Hidden Agenda
by NFS LOVER
Summary: The Dragon Eye: a key to unlocking the most elusive secrets of dragons and a magnet for attracting the most fearsome Dragon Hunter to ever sail the seas of the Archipelago. In a world preparing for the greatest Dragon War the world has ever witnessed, perfect opportunities lie in wait for any Viking to make his mark on the world. Everyone has their own hidden agenda. Sequel toTPDTF
1. Dragon Trapper

**Author's Note:**

 **Well, you all have been waiting for it, and I'm glad to tell you that this is the beginning of the sequel of _The Past Defines the Future_. I'm giving you guys a warning that updates will be sporadic so don't expect me to update it every week. If I do, consider many small Christmas' have come early. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy the beginning of ...**

 _ **I Define Myself**_

* * *

The sunsets always held a magical trait to the people of the Last Frontier village on the Eastern continent. Vikings - adults, elders and children alike - would always occupy themselves outside with friends and family to watch the sun set over the horizon. The darkening sky would usually aid in the natural beauty, bringing about a dark bluish tint zoning in on the fading orange. The clouds were painted over with a colour on the border between white and grey. Coupled with the setting sun and the darkening sky, the Last Frontier - now known as Hofoalond - had its own natural portrait that covered the entirety of the west.

And it was due to this natural beauty, that none of the villagers saw the black shadow that flew in the safety of the approaching night sky, towards the mountain ranges. The only shadow they saw was the approaching outline of a vessel not too far from shore.

Having a ship arrive at this time was uncommon for the Viking community. Most of the ships that brought them supplies usually arrived from the wee hours of dawn up until midday. Some of the adults decided it was a good time for the children to retire to the safety of home, just in case the mystery ship brought trouble for them. Since the village was on its own with the next closest about one hundred miles east, they had learned to fend for themselves in times of attacks - whether it be dragons or other Vikings.

A few men at the docks, who had just finished hauling their catch up to their homes and were preparing their boats for tomorrow, paused in their tasks to get the docking ropes ready to tie the ship once it arrived.

"Someone call the Chief over here" one of the men at the docks called. One of the men at the beginning of the dock nodded, turning for the Chief's house. They tried to get a good look at the sails, to see if there was any indication of which tribe or army it belonged to. However, the blue sails and the white patterns adorning them didn't jog the minds of any of them.

By the time the sun had set, the ship was already at the pier, mooring lines being thrown overboard to secure it for the night. Chief Birger was already present and he gestured for one of his men to place the gangplank to welcome their guests.

"Greetings weary travelers. My name's Chief Birger and welcome to the Last Frontier, now known as Hofoalond."

The first soul off the ship was a young man, of about mid-twenties and a striped tattoo on his chin. Judging from his stature and bulging muscles, he was no slouch.

"Eret. Son of Eret" he greeted, extending his hand for a shake. Chief Birger grasped his with both of his hands and led him to the village.

"So, Eret Son of Eret, what brings you all the way out here?"

"Believe it or not, I'm looking for a dragon rider. I know it might seem a little far-fetched but-"

"Oh, are you referring to that young man who lives on the other side of the mountains?" Birger interrupted him.

"Young man?"

"Yes. Are you a friend of his?" They reached the Inn, the Chief letting his guest go first. He looked behind to see the rest of the ship's crew gathering their important belongings and also making their way to the Inn. Luckily they had enough rooms available for them. However, he didn't miss the surprised tone in Eret's voice. Clearly he was expecting him to mention someone else. "Or are you looking for someone else?"

"It could be a friend of his" he suggested as they pulled out two stools at the ale counter.

"Can't be. That man had been living on the other side of the mountains for over a year, and not once did he mention he was expecting guests or that he was living with someone else. Well, other than the dragons of course." Two tankards of ale were delivered to them.

"Are you expecting me to believe me that? I mean, I'm no dragon rider, but I am human. And all humans crave some contact with others" Eret spoke after taking a few gulps. The rest of his men arrived and had seated themselves on the other side of the Inn, where the food was laid out for the night.

"Well, seven months ago, a girl did come here looking for him."

"A girl?"

"I should say young woman. Wouldn't want to insult the lass. And yes, she arrived on a routine trading vessel, carrying little with her. She asked around the Inn about a man who can tame dragons. We told her we didn't know much about him, other than how he came every two weeks to stock up on supplies before heading back to his sanctuary. But then a week later, they show up in town together to purchase a few supplies and I haven't seem him since. She must have convinced him to go back to wherever he came from."

"That's ... weird" Eret agreed. While the Chief turned his attention away, the dragon trapper turned towards his crew, making eye contact with his first mate. He gave a small nod of his head, which was returned by the first mate before he went back to eating.

"Anyway-" the Chief turned back to him, "What profession do you follow, Son of Eret?"

"Dragon Trapping. In fact, you're looking at the best dragon trapper of the seven seas."

"Dragon Trapping, eh? That's some line of work" he took another swing of his tankard. "Is that why you're here? To catch dragons?"

"My employer wants me to find a Stormcutter. I was hoping there are a few over the mountains."

"I thought you were looking for a dragon rider?"

"The dragon rider is the key to the dragon. Last time I spotted them was but only yesterday and they were heading in this direction" Eret noticed the cautious gleam in the Chief's eyes. He had to show them that he and his crew meant the village no harm. "Chief Birger, my crew and I don't intend to cause any ruckus here. We're just after the dragon. Any information on it will be extremely useful, but if you have none, we won't push any further."

The Hofoalond Chief studied his eyes, searching for any sign of lie Eret might have spoken of in his words, or if he was hiding something. "How long do ye' plan to stay here?"

"If we can't capture any dragons we'll be out of your hair as soon as possible."

"Well, ye' best be leaving first thing in the morning" Chief Birger finished the rest of his mead before rising from the stool.

"And why is that?"

"The only way over the mountains is by dragon."

"But didn't you say that that girl managed to find who she was looking for?" He can't stop here. Drago wouldn't stand for another failure.

"Then she most likely flew on a dragon to the other side. She obviously knew the man if she could fly dragons just like he does" Chief Birger said, nearly at the door. "If ye' want to try and find a way, by my guest, but ye' won't be the first. Nearly all the men and women in this village tried to find a way through the mountain, or if there was another path north or south of here, but nay. The only way over, that we know of, is by dragon."

With that final but of information, he bid Eret goodnight.

* * *

Hiccup's old house became nothing more than a humble abode for the Terrible Terrors of the valley. Its sturdy structure was the perfect haven where they didn't have to worry about larger dragons looking for a snack. In the seven months that he had been gone, dust and greenery began to collect along the walls and tables. The valley was reclaiming the foreign structure that was built nearly two winters ago. However, almost everything that he had left behind was left untouched. The Terrors had kept themselves busy by knocking over old cutlery and knocking old contraptions off the walls in his homemade smithy, but his study and quarters were left untouched, with only dust covering up his most recent drawings of him and Astrid.

Just like on Berk, he drew Astrid without her knowledge. He drawn her from the waist up, matching every single detail he noticed on the real Astrid. And it was also in this small portrait that he drew himself next to her. At that time, it was just for the laughs. A reminiscence of his love for her when they were young teens and a silent plea for what they could be once he returned to Berk with her. To any person examining the detailed sketch, it appeared the two of them were the perfect couple, completely infatuated with each other.

That was definitely how they appeared to be to the figure holding the sketch of them; seemingly empty black slits of the mask scrutinizing the passion that the two young adults contained in their eyes.


	2. Dragon's Edge

**Author's Note:**

 **I really do have no words now. I mean, what can you say when your story, only when a small epilogue/prologue chapter was published, has received 100 FAVORITES and over 120 Followers. Thank you to all of you for the wonderful feedback and I do hope you will fall in love with the chapters to come.**

 **Also, just a warning, this chapter takes place 3 MONTHS after that prologue. And the time difference since Hiccup left his house in Hofoalond is 11 months. The characters look the same as they did in HTTYD 2. The only real different characteristic is their age: Both Hiccup and Astrid are 21, and the rest of the gang is 20. Only Ripper is older - 22. Heather is 20 in this story. And now, without further ado, I present to you Chapter 2!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _3 Months Later_

"Cannonball!" Came the unnecessary yelling of their village idiot as he brought his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs and keeping his head tucked in as he landed in the seasonal warm waters of the sea, splashing everyone in his vicinity. It was the middle of summer for the Archipelago - as hot as it could be anyway for the residents of the Median of Misery. However, since Berk was still too cold for a dip into the sea, they had resorted to their own personal, little village - dubbed Dragon's Edge - which was a thirty seven to forty hour flight from Berk.

But not too far from Sharkslane - only a three hour flight.

Barf and Belch landed back onto the beach and went to join Hookfang who was lounging in the shade of a few trees. Fishlegs and Meatlug were busy constructing a rock castle just for her, Ruffnut had found her own little spot and was enjoying a, for once, a peaceful sun bathe, while Snotlout had taken to the waters to get a few lengths in. Bladewing and Heather's new dragon, Windshear, were lounging by their riders who were busy with the little bundle joy and torture for the past four months.

Four months ago Heather, had given birth to a healthy baby boy, and the proud parents had named him Asger Eerikki Bonemould. As far as physical appearances go, he had his father's dirty blonde hair, his mother's green eyes, and judging from stories from Heather's parents when she was a baby, he was definitely his father when it came to energy. The little Viking was always up and about, exploring their house back in Sharkslane. One of the two parents always had to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't hurt himself. They would have had the dragons lend a few extra eyes, but considering both Bladewing and Windshear were too big to fit in the house, they normally made sure to keep an eye out in case Asger found his way out of the house.

Ripper was busy building a sand castle in front of Asger, while he clapped his hands and sounded his excitement in short, high pitched squeals and smiles while his mother held him steadily. Hiccup had made Asger a special hat to be worn whenever he was at the beach. Even though it was the north, there were some days that brought a calm and marvelous heat that signaled a dip, or a day, at the beach but the first-time parents weren't taking any risks with their new little bundle of joy.

"Watch where you're splashing muttonhead!" they heard Snotlout's all too familiar yell.

"I did. I made sure it was right next to you" Tuff snickered as he proceeded to float on his back. "Ah! This is the life. No responsibilities, no exploring, just good ole' relaxation."

"Don't let Hiccup hear you say that" Ruff called out from the beach.

"Come on babe! The water's just fine. And don't worry, if any Scauldron tries to sneak up on you, I'll be there to protect you!" The female Thorston rolled her eyes in disgust at one of Snotlout's many attempts to woo her. She thought at least she could have gotten a break today considering they were on a beach and ... oh ... beach means shirtless guys and flirting with the single girls; or girl, in her case. At least Fishlegs wasn't trying to-

"Just a friendly reminder, Ruffnut, but you could always help me with Meatlug's castle. And then we could work on yours?"

Never mind. Guys can't take a break from wooing even for one day huh?

"Also another reminder, the water is much more fun than working in sand, babe!"

"Could you guys give it a rest? I'm trying to relax" and she stretched her hands and legs for emphasis before getting comfortable on the blankets she had laid out.

"Wow Ruff. Any other girl would be loving the attention" she heard a voice.

"You didn't when all the boys were gawking all over you" Ruff turned her head to be met with a pair of feet, before looking up and seeing Astrid looking down on her. Both girls were dressed in the same beach attire. A pair of short leggings that went up to only half of their thighs and some thick cloth wrapped around their waist, making sure to cover their assets if they went in the water, and bindings that weren't see-through if they got wet. Made of a special material found by Hiccup in the many lands that he had visited.

Astrid got down on her knees and rolled out a blanket next to Ruffnut, before seating herself on it and plopping down a basket full of fruits, and by the looks of them, preserved, honeyed apples, plums and a few berries.

"Don't mind if I do- Ow!" Ruff pulled back her hand, immediately rubbing the area where Astrid had smacked her.

"Hands off! These are strictly for Hiccup and I" she said, placing the basket on the other side of her.

"No need to get all protective Ms. Personal Space. They're just fruits" Ruff said, lying back down but not taking her eyes off the basket.

"Fruits from the Haddock's private stock, mind you" she smirked in her direction. "Hiccup brought them along on this trip for the two of us, and that basket is all there is, so I'm just making sure these fruits are for their intended." She plopped a berry into her mouth after finishing her sentence.

"Just some of the many, _many_ perks that come with dating a guy who's madly in love with you and just so happens to be the heir to Berk" Ruff said, sarcasm fully intended.

"Are you suggesting M'Lady is only dating me for my inevitable inheritance?" Came the sarcastic response of the subject between the two women. Hiccup sat himself down on the blanket, placing an arm around Astrid's shoulders and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Hiccup, as were the rest of the guys, wore a pair of leather shorts that went right up to the top of the knee.

"That's right, babe. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into" she trailed her hand across his collarbone playfully.

"If it's going to be like the past nine months, I'm all for it."

Ruffnut scrutinized the back-and-forth bantering couple. Yes, they seemed so perfectly in sync with each other. Yet, it all seemed so weird. "Remind me again how you don't get flustered around her anymore?" The pair looked up at Ruffnut, making sure they heard her question right.

"I've had contact with girls other than Astrid, Ruff. Remember? All the stories I told you guys about the lands I visited? Or did that just go over your head?"

"It's just that-" she paused, tilting her head and squinting her eyes as she examined him "-the Hiccup from six years ago turned into ... _that._ "

"You just gestured to all of me."

"You know what I mean!" he wasn't expecting the sharp, annoyed response. Astrid, however, grinned. She knew why the female twin was sometimes so ... uptight, when she saw them together. Ever since Astrid first told her about their little love-making on Valkyrie's Island, she suspected Ruffnut might, and this was a long-shot at best, have had a little fantasy about taking Hiccup - the present Hiccup - all for herself, at least for a one-night stand thing; see what he was made of. She was only ever more curious since Astrid kept a tight lid on her and Hiccup's intimacy. Never spilling any details about his traits, what he did to her, and so on.

"Ruffnut-" she interrupted, "-it's a beautiful day. Why not drop the questions and just enjoy it, hm?" She couldn't help the sly grin over her face. All those times of where Ruffnut had shared in explicit detail about her sex life with, apparently, 'hot' sailors and tried to convince her to get laid were coming back against her because she had the one thing Ruff didn't know if she wanted or not. Either way, she was going to enjoy this before Ruff completely gives up. She always kept doubting Hiccup had any package down there, even if puberty had been kind to him everywhere else, just to annoy Astrid. She knew it was a tactic to get to spill the beans, but she would never budge. And it was due to that that Ruffnut was turning her attention elsewhere.

She let out a sigh, lying down back on her blanket; not before flashing a rude hand gesture.

"So who won the race this time?" Heather asked, attempting to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"Ms. Chieftess over here. Didn't help that Mr. Chief 'accidentally' threw the black sheep in her box" Ruffnut said.

"Why are you complaining? You had Snotlout and Fishlegs rack up thirteen sheep for you!"

"I _never_ asked them to do it! I can't control how they try to woo me" she replied in defense.

"That reminds me-" Snotlout started as he made his way back onto the beach, shaking as much water out of his hair as he could "-Thanks Hiccup, for ruining my love's chance at a win." Hiccup didn't even bother with a remark. He had thrown the black sheep in Astrid's goal box because he knew just how much she wanted to retain her undefeated streak. He knew, and Astrid most definitely knew, that he and Toothless could easily clean up the entire herd of sheep and place it in his goal box to win before the other riders even knew what had happened. At the same time, he knew Astrid didn't _really_ like help like that. But she made sure to thank him for continuing her winning streak; which was why they were a little late to the beach.

"You guys should also join in" he told Ripper and Heather.

"It would be interesting to see how a Razorwhip and a Whispering Death perform in the Dragon Races" Fishlegs spoke up.

"Still won't be able to compare to my woman's Zippleback-" Snotlout said as he attempted to sit beside Ruffnut, who promptly shoved him off her blanket, enjoying the sight of him face-planting into the soft sand.

"That does sound tempting. What do you think, Asger?" The four month old clapped his hands, apparently agreeing with his father.

"Oh no. You're not partaking in any of those races" Heather reminded him.

"Gonna let your wife speak for you, Ripper?" Snotlout teased.

"She has a point. Bladewing is large and somewhat slow-" an indignant huff came from said dragon "-sorry bud, and from watching you guys race, I would like to keep my life. Oh and Snotlout, at least I have a wife whom I get busy with every now and then" he gestured to the baby in her arms. The group laughed at Snotlout's pink tinted cheeks.

"I'm getting there!" He glanced at Ruffnut for some sort of support.

"Never happening in a million years" she shot him down straight away.

The group conversed for the remainder of their time at the beach, talking about future plans for Dragons Races, possible breaks when Hiccup is free again. They saw less and less of him each day as his father dragged him around the village, dumping every single possible lesson he could to accelerate his Chief studies. Astrid was probably the only one who saw him most of the time; unsurprising since he always made it a mission to leave some time for her. Or if possible, sneak away from his dad when he wasn't looking and fly with her some place far - either charting new unknown lands, or getting busy on isolated discovered ones

At one point all of them had ventured out into the water; Heather and Ripper staying close to the shore with Asger while the rest of them rough-housed in deeper water. Tuffnut had decided to pull a fast one on Snotlout, pulling down his shorts and letting them sink to the shallow bed. Fishlegs was attempting to spill all his known facts about the sea and any creature related to it to Ruffnut, who was wishing her brother would do something him. Astrid and Hiccup were in their own little world a few paces away, apparently engrossed in a tickling war, which Astrid was undoubtedly winning from Hiccup's laughs.

"Okay! Okay! I surrender!" he breathed out through the onslaught.

"Na-uh. This Viking doesn't take prisoners" she continued. However they were interrupted when Tuffnut crashed into them, on purpose, fleeing from an angry Snotlout who managed to find his shorts.

"It's not my fault you left yourself wide open!" he called back to him, recovering from his brief entanglement.

"You are so luck Hookfang is in the mood for relaxing! Cause if he wasn't he'd be out here roasting you alive!" Hiccup and Astrid watched the two go by, Snotlout continuing to scream profanities at Tuffnut.

"I nearly forgot how loud you guys were" Hiccup commented.

"Peace and quiet of the Last Frontier got to you, huh?" Astrid asked, as Hiccup encircled his arms around and her brought her to his chest.

"It had his upsides. But there were a few downs."

"Hmm. Let me guess. A certain blonde wasn't there to make things interesting" she smirked.

"Something like that" he closed in for a kiss.

"You guys better not get into it considering there's a baby within sight!" Ruff called out, glad she could stop Fishlegs' fact lecture.

"Did we have to tag along with everyone to the beach?" she asked in a hush voice.

"I had to. Ripper asked me personally to come. And who I am to deny his son of his Godfather?" They both looked in the direction of the family as they played near the shore. Ripper spent most of his time with Hiccup whenever he came to visit, which inevitably meant that Astrid spent time with Heather, getting to know more about her, her family and her ancestry. Apart from being of noble blood, her past line had quite a few warriors in it, back when Vikings used to kill dragons and other beasts. This at once caught Astrid's attention, especially when her great-great-grandfather fought - in what was apparently the first encounter - a Screaming Death. Sadly he didn't survive fight. Then again, and even Heather knew it, no one could survive a one-on-one fight with it. Even with dragons aiding, a Screaming Death is incredibly hard to take down. It is because of its size, strength, aggression, intelligence, and its ability to instill fear and incapacitate dragons with its roar, Hiccup labeled it as the Alpha of the Boulder Class dragons.

It was most likely thanks to her warrior blood, that Heather was a quick study with the axe. After she had recovered completely from Asger's birth, she had asked Astrid if she could train her in combat. Of course the fiery blonde was more than happy to extend her services. Her reason was that if people who had the intent of hurting her family, and if they got through Bladewing, Windshear or Ripper, she wanted to know how to defend herself. The two became close friends after the first few lessons.

"Valhalla to Astrid" she turned her gaze back to Hiccup who a thoughtful smile on his face. "Thinking about the future" he nodded to Asger and back to them.

"Something like that" she looked back at them. Hiccup and her never really discussed marriage, or responsibilities for the future. They wanted to live for the moment. But more than rarely, they both found themselves thinking on what it would be like to have a child of their own. They joked about it when they voiced it to each other, however, they couldn't help but think it wouldn't be bad at all.

"Someday I would like to have children with you Hiccup. The Gods know that for sure. But-"

"We'll cross that river when we get there" he agreed with her. And that was another reason why they worked so well together. They already knew what the other half was thinking. It was not until another two hours later that they decided to call it a day and head back to the main area outside the meeting hall on Dragon's Edge, where a good chunk of boar meat was roasting on a spit. Asger was already enjoying warm yak milk from a sturdy leather flask, made by Hiccup, being held by his mother. Everyone's dragons were behind their respective riders, taking advantage of an incredibly relaxing day.

"Love what you guys did with the place" Ripper commented, looking around the base.

"I let them do their own little thing and combined it all in the end."

"You should have seen Princess Outpost Hiccup. I never thought I'd miss the regular one so bad" Snotlout spoke, earning laughs from everyone around the fire and a scowl from Hiccup.

"I am not that controlling-" he received speculative faces from everyone, even a few of the dragons "-most of the time."

"You actually are, babe. But you've really improved since then."

"It's just he was so used to doing things on his own. That's why" Ripper backed him up.

"Yeah. I stopped being Princess Outpost Hiccup knowing it wasn't worth the headache."

"So will you guys be here for the rest of the week or?" asked Heather.

"We've decided to stay here until we're needed back at Berk" Fishlegs said.

"Yeah. We go back for the occasional Dragon Race, but most of the time, we stay here, where we're the bosses of ourselves" Snotlout said, folding his arms behind his head and pressing into Hookfang's warm belly. "No adult supervision, no adult rules, just us six."

"What about you, Hiccup?"

"My dad taught me all the basics and, truth be told, it's incredibly boring following him around and frustrating to listen to all the petty squabbles, boring council meetings and reading he has to do. I admire that he can do that. But I don't think I'll ever be able to. At least, until he retires. And I don't think he'd leave Berk on a forty hour dragon ride to come get me for my duties."

"You guys are really living the life."

"Yeah, it's awesome" Tuff said as he grabbed some more boar.

"Never gonna leave this place" Ruff agreed with him.

"And besides, you guys can think of this outpost as Sharkslane's first line of defense" Astrid added in. "An unobstructed view of the sea, able to see if any ships are on the horizon, and the fact that we have dragons to attack them with" she smiled.

"I can see that. This alliance between Sharkslane and Berk is extremely profitable, and it's all thanks to our friendship."

"Just make sure to stay on our good side" Snotlout remarked.

"I can't imagine what would happen if we weren't."


	3. Make Room

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! Another new year is here, but I'm not going to be a part of that 'New Year's Resolution' stuff since I know I won't stick to the goals I set myself. And besides, I like the way I am, not going change anything about it.**

 **This chapter came out a lot quicker than anticipated, but that's good news for you, isn't it? Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying _I Define Myself_ so far, but not to worry, the angst is yet to come. However, I'm still not on any updating schedule so the updates will for sure be out of the blue every now and then. Also, I'm thinking you'll love the ending. **

**And just binged the entirety of season 2 of RTTE. So that's what inspired me to get this chapter out now. Anyway, won't spoil anything for you guys, but you will be seeing characters from there in here. So be warned and WATCH IT!**

 **Enjoy Chapter 3!**

* * *

000

"Any progress?" Cutthroat glanced behind him, seeing the familiar figure of Cadman at the doorway.

He shook his head. "No leads as of yet" he replied, straight to the point. He had been stuck in the makeshift archive room below deck on Cadman's ship; spending nearly two days tracking the location of a dragon that Cadman had deemed was necessary for their march to success. However, he could only do so much on his own.

"Very well. I'll be leaving with Dabria soon to the Master. You and your cousin will continue the search with Captain Markus and his crew." Cadman was nearly out of sight when Cutthroat spoke up.

"Remind me again why we're looking for this dragon?" He wasn't fazed when Cadman turned around, sending him a glare. "We already have the Red Death and the Bewilderbeast. Why do we need it as well?"

"Because you should know that by having that dragon, not only will we have three technical Alphas, but we would have the only dragon that can break their control over the rest. It is therefore crucial that we find this beast and add it to our arsenal."

"Well, my search would be going the speed you want it if I had additional help at my disposal, or to put it in Norse, a dragon trapper?"

"You know I can't do that, not without his order."

"Then get his order. Eret would be a lot of help since this is his specialty after all."

"I'll see what I can do. But don't hold your hopes up, he needs his best dragon trapper searching for that dragon rider and her Stormcutter; because if we find her-"

"-We find the nest and the other Alpha. Yeah, yeah, I heard the briefing" he interrupted Cadman. Without further delay, Cadman bid his goodbyes and exited the room, walking back onto the deck of the ship.

"Remind me again why do we have _him_ working for us?" he heard his lieutenant. He followed her gaze to Dagur who, appeared to be, nuzzling up to the Skrill he had been given and muttering incoherent phrases. "He's always been a loose canon. Remember the time where we asked him to just threaten the village of Meaolfell? Not only did he end up killing every single person there, he also burnt the entire village to a crisp."

"Perhaps we shouldn't have sent him during a thunderstorm" Cadman said as he hopped onto the back of his Rumblehorn.

"Cadman-"

"I know Dabria. But you also know that he can take away his Skrill at any time, so who's got something to lose here?"

"But we will not be able to recruit new soldiers or expand our territory if he keeps killing everything with a head on it."

"I'll speak to him when we get back. Now let's go; we're already late."

Cutthroat was just on his way up as he saw two figures fly past him - on a northerly heading. He was done trying to decipher where that infernal dragon could be hiding. For something so monstrous and deadly, it lacked any and all social skills. Not the traits of a potential Alpha. He needed Eret to help him. Eret would _want_ to help him. How could he not? Of course he had captured nearly all dragons known to Vikings, but to capture a Screaming Death - his name would forever be remembered in songs and stories - and remembering the trapper from their first encounter, he will want to help.

"Spend any more time with that dragon and you'll become one yourself; although, I'm pretty sure that's what you're praying for to happen."

"It's just ... Look. At It." He whispered in shock, standing back and extending his arms as far as he could, beholding the Skrill in front of him. It finally belongs to its true master."

"Don't let Drago hear you say that if you still want your head." Cutthroat walked over to a few cages where multiple Terrible Terrors were kept and pulled one out.

"What are you doing?" he heard Dagur ask.

"Sending a message to Eret." He tied the note to the dragon's leg before letting it loose. "We'll need his help if we want to find that dragon."

"Going behind Cadman's back eh? You're really sticking your neck out for this cousin."

"If Drago wants his dragon he needs his best trapper on the hunt. I'm doing him a favour."

"And how are you so sure he'll come on his own will?"

"You've met the guy! He reeks of cockiness, arrogance and over-confidence. He would want to be known as the first dragon trapper to catch a Screaming Death. I can say I won't like his attitude after that, but anything to get the job done. Until then, we must continue our search." He turned around and shouted a few orders to the helmsman.

"Where to now?" asked Dagur.

"To meet up with Eret. He's bound to turn his ship around and come in our direction, so might as well meet him half-way."

000

"Let's see if we turn it here-" Hiccup bit his bottom lip as he carefully turned the disk he had just inserted into the Dragon Eye. The rest of the gang had retired to their huts, which would give him peace and quiet to continue work on it. Toothless watched from his stone slab the images and symbols that popped onto the wall from the Dragon Eye.

 _"What are you looking for now?"_

"Anything that can give light on the Screaming Death." He got up and walked over to the wall, looking at the section of the Boulder Class dragons, looking for any signs that talk about a Screaming Death - something at least.

 _"Why?"_

"It's one of the few dragons we know least about. Sure we lived next to one for a year, but, you know how that turned out." He let out a deep sigh, frustrated that there was nothing about the dragon on the disk. Not even a mention of its name. At least it wasn't a total waste of time. "Well, time to see what the Strike Class can offer us" he said, pulling out the disk and inserting the other one in.

"Okay, let's see if I missed anything" he muttered, walking up to the wall and and using his smithy's eye to look for any hidden writing or image.

 _"I can tell you one thing that you missed"_ Toothless said, looking at the door.

"And what's that?" Hiccup was too preoccupied to turn around.

 _"An intruder."_

"A what-?" Before he could utter another letter, the image on the wall disappeared.

"You really have to get a new hobby" he heard an all too familiar voice. He couldn't help the grin making its way across his face as he turned around to see Astrid with the Eye.

"I would if my other hobbies didn't include getting shot at, attending deadly boring lectures, incompetent arguments and being wanted for unspeakable ends by everyone I meet" he began walking towards her.

"Does 'everyone' include me?" she began moving away from him, hiding the Eye behind her back as she moved slowly out of reach of his arms, never breaking eye-contact.

"Yours is the only unspeakable end that I look forward to."

"Hm, I wonder why." It was hard not to notice her golden strands of silk. It was the first thing he did notice when he turned to face her. She only ever had her hair down in intimate moments involving him. "But really Hiccup, it's been four months since you found this. You've got to stop chasing every lead on new dragons you find in it." Hiccup sighed at the look she was giving him. It was that 'encouraging' look; for him to learn to take the mantle of Chief.

"You know that's not me, Astrid."

"I know. But let's face it, Hiccup. It _will_ be you leading Berk when your dad retires."

"What about us? We won't have time to meet each other. Quick pecks on the lips and fleeting glances will be the only thing keeping us close" he sighed. "You remember that whole month, right?" She frowned at the memory. Coming back at the age of twenty meant Hiccup had to do a crash course of what it means to be Chief. He had to follow his father around, attending to matters he couldn't be the least bit bothered by, council meetings, food supplies, trading lessons; as if he didn't know how to already do that considering he lived on his own for a year. 'That was you and only _you_ , Hiccup. Now you have you _and_ the rest of Berk to worry about' his father lectured him. His father's watchful eye meant he had no time at all to help integrate dragons into the community. That task was left to Astrid and the others. Sure they came to him for guidance, but they had to get through the Chief first. Astrid had tried repeatedly to get the Chief to give Hiccup some time away from him to help with any dragon-related issues. Most of them were futile. He only told Hiccup would give a verbal answer and for her and the others to go by what he said.

By the end of those days, Hiccup was absolutely exhausted to go on any flights, be it alone or with Astrid. Pretty soon she learned that this is what it would be like to be the wife of a Chief. His attention would have to be towards everyone. Not just her. It was during that period that they had their first real fight with each other. And it was a fight that threatened to end their fledgling relationship. If Ripper had not intervened when he came on a trading agreement, the two of them would have had a lot more trouble solving out the recent rift between them.

"I know, Hiccup. What happened then was, and still is, inexcusable by the two of us. We didn't know what do, how to approach the situation we put ourselves in it. But we learned from it. And just like that, we can learn how to manage your Chief duties and our time together."

"I know. It's just that..." he paused, looking at the candle by his bed.

"Just what?" She took a few steps closer.

"I won't be with you all the time, and... you won't see me most of the time either and-"

"You're afraid I'll look elsewhere" she deduced. She watched him nod his head sadly. A small smile graced her lips as she shook her head and walked towards him.

"OW!" He reached to rub her his upper left arm where Astrid had given him a punch that he was more painful than he was used to. "What was-"

" _That_ was for thinking I'd cheat on you!" He noticed her scowl. And it wasn't the playful kind. "I know I asked too much of you back then, Hiccup. But just because you're going to be Chief, just because you won't see me as often doesn't mean I'm going to lose interest in you."

"Aren't you worried that I'll stop giving you the attention you deserve! I'm worried that I'll stop doing that-"

"No, Hiccup. I know you're not going to stop doing that because you've already found a way around that."

"What do you mean? What have I done?"

"When Ripper came and helped you manage your time, you always made sure to make time for me and the others _and_ convinced your dad that there'd be no way to work around it. Those nights where you showed up at my house for our nightly flights, those times where you even brought dinner along, the times where you dropped by the Academy just to see how things were going, and all those little pecks on the lips and cheeks - they may seem small, Hiccup, but trust me when I say that all those little actions add up in big ways. I always look forward to them because no matter how busy you get, you always made sure to make time for me, for your friends, and for Toothless-" She rubbed the dragon's head.

 _"She's right you know"_ he said, enjoying the scratches.

"But I don't know if-"

"Hiccup-" she interrupted him, reaching up to caress his cheek while held her wrist to it, "-stop thinking about it. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking about these things and do what you think you should do. I swear, one of these days that mind will get you killed."

"I can agree with you there" he chuckled.

"Besides," she trailed her hand down his chest, over the leather armour, "-big, brawny Vikings were never my type. I prefer the lithe, agile, smart, caring kind of Viking. Those are the one of a kind Vikings. And I happen to have one here, and I love him just the way he is" she closed the space between them and met his lips. They stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling away.

"You always know what to say. You're remarkable, you know that?"

"So I've been told" she smirked.

"So, can I have the Eye back?" he extended his hand.

"No!" She pulled back immediately, hiding the Eye behind her back again. "You need a break from this thing, and I will force you to take one if I have to."

"Astrid" he began walking towards her. She noticed the calculating look in his eye. This was not good. She immediately turned around and headed for the door, but found Toothless standing directly in front of it. Before she had time to think of another escape plan she was turned around and heaved over Hiccup's shoulder; him clasping his hand around her waist, holding her in place while she kicked in futile.

"Hiccup! Put me down!" She smacked his back, trying to pull herself up so she could give him a warning whack on the head.

"Not until I have the Eye back." And just for further emphasis on the embarrassing situation, he shifted her into a better holding position for his arm with a small bounce of his shoulder. Astrid could have been seeing red if her untied hair wasn't covering her face.

"And you think man-handling me is the only way?" She crossed her arms, hiding the Eye between her chest and Hiccup's back as she stared in front of her, blowing any hair away from her eyes.

"Actions speak louder than words, so yeah. Come on Astrid, you and I both know I won't put you down if you don't give me the Eye back."

"And I hope you know that I can give you an excruciating wedgie from here." She placed her free hand at the waist-band of his pants for emphasis. "Your move, Dragon Boy" she smirked.

"Alright" he promptly turned around so that she was facing Toothless. "Toothless, why don't you show how much you love Astrid." She could hear the smirk in his voice, and he could feel her eyes widen in shock as Toothless showed her his gummy smile. She turned her head as best as she could while he did the same, making slight eye-contact.

"You wouldn't dare." Hiccup only shrugged his shoulders. "I can't believe you're bringing Toothless into this."

"You and Ripper did teach me to always use your surroundings to your advantage" he lectured her. "Now about that, Eye..." he extended his other hand behind his neck with an open palm, waiting for the Eye. Astrid looked between his arm and the ever present slime that was building up in Toothless' mouth. She huffed her frustration and reluctantly placed the Eye in Hiccup's hand.

"Okay, you win. Now can you save any dignity I have left and put me down?" He seemed to ignore her request as he walked over to a table, with her still over his shoulder, and placed the Eye on it before turning around again. "Oh come on, Hiccup. This is- Wha-!" He pulled her back enough for her to be off his shoulder and facing him, but her back met a wooden column and he pressed his body into hers to hold her up, just long enough for her to bring her arms around his neck to hold herself up. He couldn't help the grin he had at his girlfriend's surprised expression. He adjusted his hold, moving both his hands underneath her thighs while pressing slightly into her, keeping her propped up against the column.

"I figured we'd get to what you came here for?" He said with a shrug of his shoulders. She gently pulled down on one of his braids, while she tilted her head down, looking up at him through half-lidded eyes.

"You keep surprising me, Hiccup" she released his braid as she brought her face back up to the same eye-level as his.

"I have to keep up with you some way can't I?" He didn't give her time to form a reply as he captured her lips, pressing his hips into hers. She already felt a growing bulge in his leather pants the harder he pressed into her core. Her hands moved from his neck to tangle themselves in his thick, auburn locks. The harder she raked through them – the harder she pressed his lips against hers, the harder he pressed his hips against hers, and the faster the need to shed each other's clothing grew. Her fingers skillfully undid all the buckles and knots that held his leather chest piece, shoulder and arm pads; all items hitting the floor with a thud, leaving him in his, newly acquired, red tunic.

"Don't you think the bed will be more comfortable?" she gasped, as his lips moved to her neck. He hummed what she assumed was an agreement, because after some careful readjustments to his grip on her, he moved away from the beam, making his way to his bed, laying her down carefully and climbing on top of her. They didn't waste any time. Hiccup shed his tunic while Astrid kicked off her boots and undid her skirt, throwing it over the side of the bed. With the skirt out of the way, Hiccup hooked his fingers into the hem of her leggings and pulled them down; bringing her underwear along with it.

She took the moment to undo his belt buckle, and pushing his pants down enough to free his constricted length, before grabbing it and giving a few strokes to harden it further. She smiled up at him, before carefully rolling them over so she was on top, straddling his thighs and resuming her stroking. She gazed at him lovingly, moving in to plant a kiss, however he met her halfway, cupping her face in his calloused hands as tongues resumed their duel. She could feel his eager cock twitching relentlessly in her hand; seemingly begging to be surrounded by her own wanting sex.

She couldn't deny that now, could she?

She briefly stopped her torturous strokes, to remove her tunic. Hiccup took this opportunity to undo her bindings; those infernal clothe pieces that did no justice to her magnificent breasts. He immediately latched onto a hardened nipple with his mouth - tongue and teeth working together to stimulate the Valkyrie above him even further. Her wanton moans drove him on. His own groans muffled as she worked his cock.

"Ready M'Lady?"

"Do you even have to ask?" she grinned as she lifted herself up. He propped up, back against the backboard as she positioned herself on top of him and sank down a few seconds later. Their moans echoed through his hut shamelessly. At this point they didn't care if any of their friends were on a midnight stroll and overheard them. It would just be a small reminder as to what kept them busy at night; not that their friends were oblivious to their meetings. They just didn't know how frequently it happened.

His hands grabbed her hips, pushing her down all the way, making sure his length was completely embedded in her. She tossed her head back in pure ecstasy, reveling in the joy and pleasure the sensitive nerves in her sex was sending her. She felt his hands on her hips, holding her down as he gave an experimental roll of his hips. The movement brought moans from the both of them. Her hands were splayed across his chest as she began her movements, slow and steady thrusts down upon him. She was in no rush to achieve her end, and neither was he. They were going to enjoy this session at their own pace.

"Gods" he sighed as she came down upon him again. He could feel every curve, every groove and every single possible spot in her that enveloped his cock. He ran his hands along her sculpted curves, praising the artist of Valhalla who had laid our her young adult image. He had memorized every possible freckle, every possible curve and every possible sweet spot on her body, but he would never grow tired of running his hands all over her. _His_ Astrid. And he was _her_ Hiccup.

His hands were comparable to the hottest coals of the forge on its busiest day. For tools that could create so many wonderful items, they had a power that could always make her come undone. His touch only spurred her on, increasing her pace while her hands moved to his neck to bring in him closer. He couldn't hold in the sigh that escaped his lips as she trailed heated kisses from his collarbone, up his neck and finally to his earlobe, finishing off with a tiny, but stimulating bite. In reply, one of his hands made its way between her legs, reaching that mass of nerves that he dedicated just as much time when it came to fucking her. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt him rub that sensitive nub with his talented fingers.

"Fu-Hiccup" she moaned. He loved the way his name rolled off her tongue. He claimed her lips once again as he increased the pace and pressure of his fingers, bringing her ever so closer to that precipice she longed for. Her own thrusts had increased in pace and ferocity. She could only hope he would come at the same time as her, but that wasn't going to happen. She could feel the heat and pressure building up in her core. It was only a matter of time before she'd break. His fingers only increased their onslaught while his hips met hers as she came down. The bite to her neck was her undoing.

Hiccup could feel her whole body tense, spine arching and fingernails digging into his shoulders as her orgasm hit her hard. She couldn't help the wild bucking of her hips as they carried with their own agenda. Hiccup tightened his hold on her, letting her ride her last waves of ecstasy as he rolled his hips gently, feeling the pulsing of her sex around his cock, and all the fluids that made him push in probably an extra centimetre. When she was finally spent she collapsed onto him, trying to catch her breath and come back to Midgard from her dizzying high.

However, she could still feel his hard length buried deep inside of her; unspent and throbbing relentlessly.

"Mind if we switch?" She could only nod. With her remaining strength, she climbed off of him and let herself fall on her hands and knees once he was out of the way. He quickly placed himself behind her, grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him. Within moments she felt his cock slide in, aided by the remnants of her orgasm. Her hands gave way the moment he was completely in, landing on her elbows as he began his rhythm. He wrapped an arm around her chest, pulling himself down on her where she could feel his hot, ragged breaths at her ear. He gave her shoulder and neck rough kisses and bites, mostly her shoulder as he pounded her from behind.

It was moments like these where she loved that he was in total control. All he was focused on was finishing off and making sure he showed her just how much he loved her. "Gods...uh...so fucking-deep" she bit her lower lip as he increased his pace. His other hand found its place between her legs again, teasing her now over-sensitive nub. She swore to Frigg that she would have another orgasm.

"Herbs?" He breathed out.

"Yes. Fi-Finish...in me."

That was all he needed. With a few final thrusts he finally came inside of her. He pulled back, grabbing her hips and emptying himself inside of her. Despite the heat generated by the two, Astrid welcomed the warmth coursing through her body, a sated smile adorning her face as she let her front hit the bed, completely out of breath. Hiccup brought his lips back to her neck, giving her sweet, gentle and deep kisses leading up to her cheek while his hand traced her side.

"So, staying her or heading back?" He murmured. She turned her head as best as she could let him plant a loving kiss on her lips, before replying-

"Make room dragon boy."


	4. Dragon Hunter

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! So this chapter came up much, much, _much_ more quickly than the others. The reason is that the new season of RTTE has inspired me to do so. It was just the motivation I needed to get back in the groove of writing. And who said TV shows weren't good for you?**

 **I'll be making a lot of RTTE references in this story. That basically means from episode 1 of RTTE up until now. I'm still not sure whether to take it slow until the next 13 episodes come out, which is in June. But I'll see how it goes. Also, this is where I'm introducing two new characters from RTTE season 2.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 4!**

 **And don't forget to leave a review guys! Or for any questions you may have on this story!**

* * *

000

Cadman and Dabria spotted a large of fleet of ships flying sails of a large sword right down the middle of a dragon's skull; their decks filled to the brim with dragon traps and cages - all occupied by unfortunate dragons that had been caught by Drago's Trapper and Hunter squads. However their destination among the cluster was the massive ship in the centre of it all; nearly five times the size of all the vessels in its company. From their vantage in the sky they observed the crew lowering the cages down into the hold. Presumably to be given the armour that was required for all dragons in his army. Drago wanted to make sure that his dragons would come out on top in every fight.

The captain of the ship spotted them. He had been informed by Drago to expect two of his high ranking Dragon Riders. He turned to one of the deckhands, "Tell Drago they're here." The man nodded, immediately heading in the direction of their Commander.

The Rumblehorn and Monstrous Nightmare landed on the deck as a few men came over with barrels of fish. Cadman was the first to dismount, walking immediately to the captain on deck. "Where's Drago?"

"I just informed one of my men to relay your arrival to him." They waited no more than a minute before the deckhand returned.

"Drago requests that they meet him in his quarters." Cadman needed no further conversation, stepping past the captain with Dabria close behind.

"What's today's meeting about?" He heard the captain call after him. He also heard the rushing of feet to catch up to him.

"None of your concern, Bard." Cadman didn't slow his pace. It wasn't to be when Bard stepped right in front of him and staring him down. The two men were of equal height and physique. The only difference was their rank.

"I don't appreciate you arriving on _my_ ship and treating me like I'm one of your subordinates."

"You _are_ one of my subordinates. What Drago and I have to discuss is none of your concern. Your job is to make sure this ship gets from point A to point B. That's it. I hardly see how that plays into what our discussion will be. Now if you will excuse me," Cadman made an attempt to move past him but was stopped when Bard grabbed him firmly by his elbow.

"You may be one of the few Dragon Riders in this army. You may be of a higher rank. But don't you forget who controls the _entire_ fleet. Who knows? Maybe one day our ships won't be able to make it in time to support you." He released his elbow and walked away, believing he got his point across. But just as he had cut off Cadman's path, the Rumblehorn cut his path off; growling menacingly and baring its razor teeth at him; the smell of fish and blood present with every exhale.

"And don't you forget who decides who lives or dies. And besides, I believe your first mate might love the promotion if his captain had an unfortunate accident with one of the dragons on deck." Cadman didn't bother of turning around to issue the threat. With a hand signal, his Rumblehorn backed off Bard, moving back to his spot next to Dabria's Monstrous Nightmare. Dabria had been watching the confrontation silently. She knew she didn't have to intervene. Anyone who attempted to threaten Cadman was either killed or given fair warning. It was thanks to Bard's rank as Captain that he wasn't bitten in half.

The two Riders continued towards the two lone doors at the end of the ship, below the upper deck. The same symbol on the sails was carved directly down the middle of the doors. Two deckhands rushed to the doors, opening them for Dabria and Cadman; closing them once they walked inside.

The room was dimly lit. Dragon skulls and weapons were the two decorations hanging on all four walls of the room. At the far end was a single table with two candles and a mountain of a man facing it, peering over what Cadman assumed was a map of some sort.

"Sir" he announced their presence.

"What of the search?"

"Sadly we haven't found it. But rest assured we are utilizing every single man and dragon at our disposal."

"Clearly, since that trapper is turning off course and heading to meet those two Berserkers." Cadman noticed that tone. He was assuming that he had disobeyed an order. "I know you would never disobey me, Cadman. Which is why I want you to cut off Eret and tell him to continue his search for the Stormcutter. I've also decided to send in help to search for the Screaming Death."

"May I ask who, sir?"

"Viggo Grimborn." Cadman knew him. When Drago had first enlisted his services, he spoke of a device that would be the key to finding information and the location of every single dragon in existence. Even more possible - finding new species of dragons. And with new species, came new abilities, traits, sizes and most important of all - more weapons for his army. This device belonged to the Dragon Hunters, but was lost years ago when their flagship, _Reaper_ , went missing. Their current leader, Viggo Grimborn convinced Drago to let him search for the device. That was nine months ago, and they hadn't achieved any progress since then. As far as Drago was concerned, he was done wasting one of his most valuable assets in his army in the pursuit of a lost device. He needed them aiding in capturing dragons for his army.

And he needed them now.

"This is their location." Cadman walked forward as Drago turned around, placing a small map in his hand. "Give them their new orders and make sure they follow them to the letter. Dismissed."

"Understood." Cadman bid him goodbye, turning to the door with Dabria close behind.

"Of all the Hunters in the Archipelago, he had to assign _him_!" Were the first words Cadman uttered as soon as the doors closed.

"But Cadman, from what I've heard, Viggo is an excellent Hunter and has the traits we want in a man - cunning, ruthless, intelligent, unforgiving, level-headed - and extremely proficient in all forms of fighting - sword, axe, archery - the list goes on and on."

"It's his brother I'm worried about."

"Ryker? But isn't he another suitable Hunter?"

"If he had a brain in that skull? Yes." They reached their dragons, going over to make sure everything was in place for their flight. "Ryker's a loose canon. Listens only to his younger brother. No respect for anyone else." After making sure everything was in order, he hauled himself onto his dragon, while Dabria did the same.

"I still don't see why you're concerned? If Ryker is afraid of Viggo, he wouldn't be a huge issue being kept in line."

"You left out a few traits when you were describing Viggo." They took off, setting a course in a south-easterly direction. "He's unpredictable, manipulative, a natural-born tactician. That makes him dangerous - to his enemies and his employers."

"But he wouldn't dare act out against us or Drago, will he?"

"If he had the army and the dragons, he would. But truth be told, I'm uncertain about his true actions, which is why when we meet him, I advise the utmost caution around him. Do you understand?" When Dabria looked into his eyes, she saw something she thought she'd never see in Cadman's eyes - fear. Small traces of it, but it was there. His uncertainty of Viggo was just a mask hiding his true emotions. Whoever this Viggo character was, he was definitely someone who should never be trifled with.

000

"You guys are up early." Ripper's comment was followed by the sounds of his baby's laughs as the gang walked into the Common Area. Ripper had taken the liberty of preparing breakfast for all them - eggs, yak jerky, warm yak milk, bread - the lot. It wasn't that it was early either. The sun was already up and was close to mid-morning.

"Someone reminded us that we have a new island to explore" Snotlout glanced at Fishlegs.

"Sorry to break it to you Snotlout, but your beauty sleep wouldn't have helped with your current appearance" Tuffnut laughed.

"Have you even looked in a mirror?"

"No! Don't ever mention mirror me ... Don't you dare!" He grabbed Snotlout's shirt, pulling him right to his face. "You have not seen pure evil until you've seen him."

"Anyway, I woke them up because Hiccup wanted us all to be ready for the trip we have planned today" Fishlegs said as he grabbed a plate and helped himself to the food, followed by the others.

"That reminds me, where is Hiccup anyway?" Ruffnut asked.

"And Astrid. Isn't she usually up at midnight and training like ... I don't know, forever since then?" Tuffnut said.

Ripper glanced at Heather, sending an all-knowing look that she understood at once. The raven head smiled and shook her head. Of course they'd be going at it. No adults around for miles.

"At least they were quiet" he whispered to her, sending her into a fit of giggles. Asger, seeing his mother's jovial mood, also started laughing and clapping his hands, wanting to share his mother's happiness. Both parents saw this and smiled. "If only you knew kid."

"Knew what?" Tuff asked with a mouth full of yak jerky.

"Oh, it's nothing" Heather tried to change the subject.

"Uh, no it wasn't. You guys are talking about the two dragons that are not currently present" said Ruffnut, twirling a fork in her hands.

"Wait, our dragons are supposed to eat with us? When was this a rule?!" Ruffnut shook her head, gazing at her brother if he was really ser- Oh wait. He was.

"Not our dragons, idiot! Astrid and Hiccup."

"Astrid and Hiccup are dragons?" This earned collective groans from everyone around the table. "I mean, that would be a seriously cool super-power, you know? To turn into a dragon at any time you wanted?"

"No Tuff. Hiccup and Astrid are not dragons. It was just an expression" Fishlegs clarified for him.

"Oh. Well why didn't you say that in the first place?" Everyone decided any further conversation on that topic would be futile.

"They're usually the first ones up and in here by the time we all arrive" Snotlout noted. However, his eyes widened an instant later and Ripper knew the grin crawling on his face. It was not a good grin.

"What do you guys say to waking up our power-couple?" he suggested. The twins and Fishlegs looked at him, wondering where he was getting at while the married couple knew _exactly_ what he was getting at. "We'll first head to Astrid's place. If she's not there, then Hiccup's. Or, whatever order you guys want."

"I'm positive that that's not a good idea Snotlout" Ripper spoke up. It was advice that was ignored immediately.

"Or, we can split up and go to each of their huts at the same time?"

"That sounds like a plan. Alright, Snotlout and I will head to Astrid's while Tuff and Fishlegs can head to Hiccup's" Ruff suggested.

"Woah. Woah. Woah. Why am I being dragged into this. I am not going sneak in to any of my friends' huts."

"Come on Fishlegs! Aren't you curious as to why them, of all people, aren't here and it's way past dawn if you noticed" Snotlout gestured outside. And he was right. All of Dragon's Edge was bathed in its warm rays. In fact, the sun was nearly halfway to midday.

"Hmm, alright" he said slowly. "But I'm still not sure about this, you guys."

"Oh don't be such a wuss, Fishlegs. I'll protect if you if Hiccup sicks Toothless on us" Tuff said as the four got up and headed out.

"That definitely calms my nerves, Tuff." Only Ripper and Heather remained with Asger.

"Want to enjoy the show? We can eat while we watch?" He suggested. "It'll certainly be a good laugh."

"Yeah, let's go." The two grabbed their plates and, along with Asger, sat on the edge of the platform, overlooking the two huts.

Xxx

"You saw something last night, didn't you?" Ruff asked as they were nearing Astrid's hut.

"Oh did I ever. I thought I was dreaming when I saw Astrid sneaking out of her hut last night, but this morning proved me wrong" he smiled.

"And what exactly were doing up late?"

"I was heading to take a leak but I noticed her door open and a figure leave. I didn't make much of it then." They reached her door, standing on either side of it.

"Well, if you're right, then Astrid would be in Hiccup's hut right now."

"Which is why we rushed over here so we can get this hut over with and see their both of their expressions!" He smiled as he opened the door. "And besides, what could we possibly find in he-" He stopped his sentence as both he and Ruff looked straight ahead; their eyes widening and minds imagining all the possible, horrible things she'd to them.

Yes. _She_.

Because right in front of them, in nothing but her breast bindings and underwear - in the process of pulling up her leggings - was Astrid. Staring right back at them.

 _Meanwhile_

"Why are they running? We'll anyway get to Hiccup's before they reach Astrid's hut" Tuff said. In fact, they were only a few yards away from Hiccup's main door.

"It's your sister and Snotlout. Why are you even surprised?" Fishlegs still couldn't find a reason as to why he joined them. What his friends did was their privacy. If they wanted to make it evident what they were doing, they would have. Strolling into their huts unannounced and without anyone's permission was downright idiotic. Then again, it was Snotlout's idea _which_ was backed up by the Twins. He supposed he only went along to diffuse the inevitable situation they'd find themselves in. However, he was thankful he wasn't going to Astrid's hut - even if there was a chance she wasn't there. If she found out they went into her hut without permission; Odin help the fool - or fools in this case.

"You gotta stop worrying Fishlegs. You have to live life on the edge, and not in your little water meditation pond."

"It's somewhere I go to relax Tuffnut. Maybe you and your sister should try that."

"We do. But our relaxing is messing with all of you." They stopped in front of the hut's door. "Ready to find out what our friends get up to?" he asked, reaching down to lift the door up ... when all of a sudden someone inside the hut opened it. Hiccup was nothing short of surprised and worried to see Fishlegs and Tuffnut in front of his hut.

"W-What are you guys doing here? Don't tell me Snotlout burned down the Common Hall again?" He assumed the worst almost instantly.

"Where's Astrid?" Tuff asked immediately, looking over his friend's shoulder and around the room.

"She's not here, Tuff" he said as the male twin looked back at him. "What is this about anyway?"

"Snotlout came up with this suggestion that Astrid spent the night with you and that's why you two weren't the first ones up" Fishlegs explained.

"So Snotlout? Come to think of it, where's Ruff?"

"They went to Astrid's hut to check if you guys were there" Tuff said. Hiccup only widen his eyes. There could only be one outcome if that happened.

"Oh Thor" he groaned. And as if on cue...

"WHAT THE FUCK!? STORMFLY!" The three Riders looked in the direction of the scream, seeing Stormfly run from behind her hut and catching the two were trying to escape, by pinning them to the ground with her legs. She had her spikes at the ready, since the distress in her rider's voice warranted that of a threat. Hiccup didn't waste any time in sprinting across the bridge to her hut. He didn't want to explain to his father how Snotlout had Ruffnut had been hacked to death. Astrid walked out to them, axe in hand and eyes ablaze with pure, annoyed rage.

"Astrid!" He yelled, but to no avail when she reached them axe held high and aimed pointedly at Snotlout's neck. He had no choice but to knock the axe out of her hand and pull her back as she screamed profanities at the two underneath Stormfly's talons.

"Of all the complete idiotic, imbecilic, dimwitted, dick-headed-"

"Astrid! There's an audience, and an incredibly young member!" Hiccup yelled over her screaming. When she looked at him with the same expression, he quickly gestured up to the Common Area where Ripper, Heather and Asger were sitting. Heather had placed her hands over Asger's ears beforehand, apparently. She managed to calm down just a bit, taking deep breaths to cool her boiling blood; however Hiccup still had his hands around her. Just in case she tried to have at them again. Stormfly had them pinned underneath her, and Hiccup knew that she would only listen to Astrid right now. Fishlegs and Tuffnut joined them soon, keeping their distance from Astrid.

"Care to explain what happened?" Hiccup asked slowly.

"These two knuckleheads just barged into _my_ hut when I was in the middle of getting dressed!" She hissed, continuing to breathe slowly. That's when Hiccup glanced down and noticed she only had her tunic and leggings on; no skirt, no shoulder pads and no boots.

"How undressed were you?"

"Underwear."

"Well, at least it wasn't-" She shot him a glare to dare him to continue. "Nevermind" he changed his sentence, with his tone shifting up an octave. But at the same time he shot all four of them, specifically Snotlout and Ruff a glare, silently telling them to explain everything.

"Look- we were just checking on where you guys were! Honest!" Snotlout's voice hitched a pitch higher when Stormfly applied more pressure onto him.

"Really? Because that's _not_ what Fishlegs told me."

Snotlout and Ruff both turned their heads as best they could to look at him.

"Traitor" Ruff mouthed.

"I told you guys it was a bad idea" he said in defense.

"Listen you guys, what time Astrid and I arrive to the Common Area is up to us-" he gestured to her and himself, "-You don't have to check up on us. Especially when you just walk in unannounced." He looked at Snotlout specifically. He was slightly peeved that Snotlout, of all people, saw Astrid in her under-garments. He'd make sure to put him to work indefinitely - and without Hookfang's help.

"We were just-" Ruff was cut off.

"Save the yakshit!" Astrid released Hiccup's grip on her and pulled free. She walked in front of Stormfly and knelt down, "If you two walk in unannounced like that ever again - I don't care for whatever reason - I am going to have Stormfly shoot you both in the head and your genitals. Especially the latter!" The two of them nodded fast and hard. Astrid gave a pat to Stormfly's chin, bringing her away from them. The two gasped as the pressure on their chests vanished, and crawled to where Fishlegs and Tuffnut were standing, watching the whole thing. After thanking Stormfly, she walked back into her hut, slamming the door, causing everyone to wince at the impact. After a few seconds Hiccup turned to all of four of them; arms crossed across his chest and expression - annoyed.

"What? You're giving us that look when she nearly tried to kill us?" Snotlout pointed to himself and Ruffnut.

"Well you deserved it!" He waved his arms. "Of all the stupid, hair-brain schemes you've come with - walking into _Astrid's_ hut unannounced? That has to be near the top for you, Snotlout." It was only mid-morning and he was exhausted already. "Just head back to the Hall, I'll assign you guys your punishments there." When they tried to speak Hiccup shut them up with a glare and point to the Hall. Knowing it was futile to argue with him, Fishlegs convinced the others to go, before shooting an apologetic look to him. Hiccup nodded in acknowledgement. He'd have to think about Fishlegs' situation. When they were finally of earshot, he walked to her door, knocking a few times. He knows he's walked in many times without knocking, but she didn't mind him doing that. In fact, if it was Hiccup who had walked in on her, she would have preferred it.

"It's me." He didn't have to wait long. She left the door ajar and he heard the retreating footsteps. He entered and saw that she had put on her boots and skirt and was proceeding to put on her shoulder pads.

"I've seen my share of surprises before - Whispering Deaths bursting from the ground, the Catastrophic Quaken, Screaming Death, Snow Wraiths and tonnes of others - all dragons that can kill a Viking. But none of those compared to those two walking in on me, _while_ I'm getting dressed."

"It could have been worse. You could have been naked.." He trailed off when she shot him an unamused expression. "It's true! And I would have had to hear Snotlout describing you to me all week."

"Please don't ever mention Snotlout and 'describing me' in the same sentence ever again." She fastened the second shoulder pad and went to fetch her fur hood.

"If it makes you feel better, you can decide the punishment they'll face - for Snotlout and Ruffnut I mean."

"That would be fun, but..." She trailed off, fixing on her fur hood and turning to him, "-I'm not in charge here."

"Well you were, eh-hem, the 'victim' here" he said, using air quotes. "After all, what kind of leader would I be if I didn't listen to any of my people." He strode towards her, cupping her hands in his once he was within reach. "Especially when one of those people is you."

"Are you prepared to face criticisms of favoritism?"

"For you, anything" he kissed her hands. She rolled her eyes at the loving gesture. Leave it to him to stir up the revenge factory in her mind with cliche romantic actions.

"I'll think of something" she patted his shoulder. "Now, don't we have somewhere to be?" She gestured to the door.

"After you, M'Lady" he did a small bow. She smiled as she walked to the door, however stopped as she noticed Hiccup wasn't walking beside or behind her. "What is it now?" She turned around, hands on her hips and tapping her foot.

"I gotta ask-" He was rubbing the back of his neck _and_ looking away from her. No matter how he aged, that Hiccup from six, seven years ago would always be in him, "-What would have happened if, and this is just hypothetical ... if _I_ walked in on you?"

She did briefly think that herself when she had retreated back into her hut to continue dressing. She definitely wouldn't have minded if Hiccup was the one who walked in on her, but considering the events from last night were relatively fresh on their minds, there definitely would have been a repeat. The thought of them doing it again in her hut brought a smile to her lips. Her mind was beginning to take her into another one of her fantasies when she realized Hiccup was still in front of her, anxiously waiting for a reply. She walked slowly towards him, accentuating the sway of her hips. The hand rubbing his neck fell back to its side, his focus now directed at the sparkle in her eyes. She reached up to cup his cheek and he pressed into her touch.

She took this opportunity to lean in, "Then we would have been in here all day while Stormfly kept out the riff raff." She pulled back, gave a soft peck on his lips and turned to the door, leaving a wishful - and minor regretful - Hiccup staring at her back.

000

"Viggo." Said man looked up from the map on his desk, seeing his brother entering his tent. "We've got two dragon riders approaching from the north."

"What dragons are they riding?"

"Rumblehorn and Monstrous Nightmare." Ryker watched his brother cast his gaze down, noticing the brief crumpling of the bottom of the map. Viggo stood up straight, running his hands through his hair while taking deep breaths. "Should I warn the archers?"

"That won't be necessary, brother. It's them." Ryker knew _them_ all too well from their last encounter.

"What will ye' tell them?"

"That we haven't found our property, of course. No point in lying to people that can see right through you after all." He held his hands behind his back as he walked out. Dusk was setting in on his island; the orange and red rays painting a beautiful backdrop against the dark blue and purplish night. Soon enough two dragons appeared in the centre of the crater and descended to land right in front of him.

"Cadman! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Have you found it yet?" He asked while adjusting his saddle; his back facing Viggo.

"Unfortunately no, Cadman. However, if you give me a little extra time I might-"

"Save it. Drago wants you on another assignment" he said, turning around. Viggo glanced at his brother before replying.

"I don't understand. Won't our device aid Drago in his conquests? Why would he have us halt our progress?"

"If there was progress to begin with." Cadman closed the distance between them. He continued before Viggo had a chance to interrupt, "It's been nine moons, Viggo, and you still have no proof that this device even existed. And Drago has only so much patience ... As do I."

"That is why we are trying to track down these thieves. However it is difficult considering only high-ranking members of our tribe knew about its existence; it doesn't help that they're all dead."

"Some by your hand, I imagine." Cadman already knew. There was no point for Viggo to respond to that. "Drago is assigning you to another, more realistic task. You are to aid two of my other associates in locating and capturing the Screaming Death. Here is their location." He handed him a map. When Viggo opened it, his eyes glanced to the red circle, presumably where his associates were.

"A Screaming Death?" He folded the map and handed it to Ryker. "That's a rare dragon, is it not?"

"Hatches once every one hundred years. There have been supposed sightings here and there, but we need more men on this. And Drago trusts you will bring a much needed level of experience in hunting this dragon."

"And what about you Cadman? Are you on board with his decision?"

"It doesn't matter what I think" Cadman replied quickly. "It's Drago's order and as second-in-command, it is my duty to carry them out. Now, do you accept your new task?"

"It's not like I have a choice in the matter. My men and I will be off first thing tomorrow morning." He turned around, ready to retire to his tent before Cadman called out.

"One more thing, Viggo-" The Hunter looked back at him, "-This is Dabria. She will be accompanying you on your hunt and will be sending weekly reports back to me." Viggo gazed at the female. Auburn hair, thin frame, sword at her hip and bow and quiver at her back - effective in close and long range combat. Age couldn't be no more than twenty. A warrior in her prime. He also conducted a quick look-over of her dragon. She would be a welcome asset to his army.

"Rest assured you will still be in charge of the hunt. She will just make sure that you stay on task - and keep my other two associates in line. You can rely on her and her dragon in battle as well. She will follow your orders, but, and I can't stress this anymore than I can - do _not_ take advantage of her, you understand?"

"I would never think of such preposterous actions Cadman. Besides I don't see why you're worrying. She'll fit right in among my men." Cadman gave him a once-over, staring him down to make sure he was telling the truth. Viggo projected nothing but calmness in his silent interrogation, meaning there was no point for Cadman to stay any longer.

"Report to me once you reach Cutthroat and Dagur" he told her. After she replied with firm 'Yes sir!', he climbed onto his dragon and took off, on a course back to Drago.


	5. Hostile Welcome

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, but a refreshing spring break has brought back enough energy to get the 5th chapter out for this story.**

 **Also I have a very IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. I know in the prequel for this story I had the dragons talking, however I want to stick with the Movie and TV show series where the dragons don't talk/Hiccup doesn't understand the dragon tongue. I also know that there are small conversations between dragons and people in this story but please ignore them. I might replace those chapters later on where this no dragon conversation in them. Sorry about it but I felt like it might be better with just the Vikings speaking.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 5!**

 **And don't forget to leave a review guys! Or for any questions you may have on this story!**

* * *

000

Once things had calmed down on Dragon's Edge, the Riders and their guests were up in the air, heading to a new island that Hiccup had discovered on one of his, many, solo trips. The earlier events of the day were still relatively fresh on everyone's minds. Snotlout and the Twins made sure to fly a good distance away from Astrid, despite Fishlegs reminding them of the fact that Deadly Nadders, especially Stormfly, had remarkable accuracy. Luckily, Tuffnut, who wasn't directly involved in stumbling upon Astrid, had managed to deter the silence by talking of plans of expanding their boar pit and building his chicken his/her own personal coop. With the possibility of giving chicken a few extra friends if she was on good behaviour.

"So, what is this new island?" Ripper asked, breaking the silence that occupied the front of the group.

"Haven't come up with a name for it just yet. And last time I stopped by the island on my way back to Dragon's Edge, so didn't have the chance to explore it completely. Just marked it on my map for a later date."

"I'm actually surprised you're bringing us along this time" Ruffnut called from the back.

"Is this your way for making it up to us when you last led us to an island over-ridden with Whispering Deaths?" asked Tuff.

"First of all, I did not lead you there. I specifically told you guys to beware of Death Cavern Isle _because_ of the Whispering Deaths. How is it my fault that you, Ruff and Snotlout went their on your own?"

"Because you told us not to go there, and being a Thorston, we are obliged to do the exact opposite of what people tell us" Tuff stated proudly.

"Yeah, Hiccup. I thought you'd figure us out by now."

"I don't know why you're complaining Hiccup. There might have been another lens for the Dragon Eye but you stopped us from retrieving it." The accusation and blame was not hard to miss from Snotlout's voice.

"Maybe-" Ripper jumped in, "-me and Bladewing could join you guys if you ever plan on heading there again. He might be able to convince the dragons there to let us explore the place?"

"Now that's some positive thinking. Unlike Princess Outpost over here." Hiccup couldn't help the annoyed expression gracing his face at the moment.

"Bladewing won't be much use to us if the alpha Whispering Death was the one that drove us out in the first place."

"Why wouldn't you want to be the alpha of a Whispering Death pack? The possibilities of terror, destruction, carnage, mutilation, oh -it's so glorious" Tuffnut wiped a tear from his eye.

"It'll be too much effort. Besides, we can't have ten more Whispering Deaths wondering around on Sharkslane or Dragon's Edge. I mean, one Whispering Death is enough, isn't that right Bladewing?" The dragon grunted in response.

"Man, you guys are no fun at all." Ruffnut crossed her arms, leaning back on Barf's neck.

"Moving on!" Astrid glanced back at the trio, shooting them a silent glare effectively ending the conversation, or daring them to continue. Their refusal to maintain eye contact with her was an enough answer. "See any dragons on this new island for the brief time you were there?"

"No. Which is why I wanted to explore it with you guys."

"More people to cover ground faster right?" Hiccup nodded to her presumption.

"We'll split up into teams of two once we get there."

000

"Where is he?" Cutthroat looked through the eye-glass, surveying the horizon. "He should have been within sight by now."

"He could have got side-tracked. You know how he is. Never gives up an opportunity to talk about his dragon-trapping tales" Dagur said, coming to stand beside his cousin. "He's literally the dragon trapper version of Johann."

"Wait-" Cutthroat brought the eye-glass back up. "There is a ship, but I don't recognize the sails."

"Could be an enemy? Please let it be an enemy. Shocker has been itching to use his lightning" Dagur snatched the eye-glass from his cousin, honing in on the ship in the distance, but his joyful hope quickly died down. "I recognize the ship" he handed the eye-glass back to Cutthroat. "I remember the symbol from back when I was a kid. They're dragon hunters."

"Huh. Should've expected Drago to have them in his pocket. But why not send Eret? I'm assuming Hunters and Trappers are basically the same profession."

"Hunters don't care if they capture the dragon dead or alive." They turned back to the ship, just in time to see a dragon leave the deck and make its way straight for them. Cutthroat took one quick look with his eye-glass before sighing.

"Damn it" he hissed under his breath, which didn't go unnoticed by Dagur. "It's Dabria. Once she gets here, let me do the talking." Just a few minutes later, the Monstrous Nightmare landed with a thud, causing the ship to sway a little. Cutthroat and Dagur both took note of the unamused look Dabria was sporting when she turned to them, arms crossed. However, before Cutthroat could utter a word-

"What were you thinking?" she used the same tone that a mother would used when she was furious with her child. "After all we did for you two, you dare go behind Cadman's back and call Eret to help you? The same Eret who was under a _direct order_ from Drago to continue his supply of dragons?"

"What other choice did we have?" Dagur completely ignored his cousin's prior advice. Cutthroat decided to jump in before things got really out of hand.

"What my cousin meant to say was that tasked with searching for a Screaming Death is not easy. All we have to go on is the few past records of encounters and observations but that's not a lot. For all we know the dragon might be hundreds of leagues away in another land."

"Which is why I've brought the two best dragon hunters on this side of the Archipelago" she gestured to the ship behind in the distance. "Although I do have to warn you that Viggo Grimborn is not to be taken lightly. He will be leading the search from now on, and I expect you both to listen to him and his brother, Ryker."

The Berserker cousins shared a glance, "What about you?"

"I'll be tagging along with you guys. I will take orders from Viggo every now and then, but my main role is to keep Cadman updated about the progress we'll make. Any other questions?" She smiled when they shook their heads. "And don't think you're off the hook for going behind Cadman's back. He'll be the one to decide your punishment the next time he sees you two. Now, prepare yourselves to meet your new partners."

Despite the hour they had to meet the dragon hunter duo, Cutthroat and Dagur were rather reluctant to do so. Their presence only meant that they were now even lower in the chain of command. In fact, both cousins considered themselves as part of the common soldier; not an equal in Drago's army. As soon as the ships were side by side, Viggo had his crew raise the gangplank so he could finally meet his new partners. Dabria stood closest to the railing, for them to greet a familiar face and to remind them that she would be a constant presence in their company and to act accordingly.

"So this is the Berserker duo that my men have been talking about" Viggo opened up, holding his hands behind his back, crossing the gangplank with his brother close in tow.

"I'm surprised you've heard about us and not the other way round" Cutthroat watched Viggo smile, before he shot a glance at the Skrill by the bow of the ship.

"I only heard about that a rare and dangerous dragon was given to a new addition to Drago's army. As a dragon hunter, my curiosity had peaked. I couldn't wait to lay me eyes on such a deadly creature" Viggo spoke as he continued to gaze at the Skrill who was paying the gathering crowd no attention.

"Well then, allow me to introduce myself. I'm-"

"Dagur and your cousin, Cutthroat. We know" Ryker interrupted. "Dabria filled us in on all your pros and cons on the way here. Most of them were pretty bad." Both cousins looked at her, unappreciative that she had given such a lowly account of them. She shrugged her shoulders, eyes betraying any care in that matter.

"I'm sure Dabria has told you a bit about us, so I'll skip the pleasantries" he crossed his arms over his chest, "I've been told by Cadman that I am to lead the search for the Screaming Death; my brother will be my second-in-command if I am not available. I have nothing to go on other than Dabria's description of you, so I've decided to give you two the benefit of the doubt and show me what you're capable of. But other than valuable input, I expect you two to follow my orders to the letter. Is that understood?"

"Of course" Cutthroat spoke immediately. When Dagur didn't say a word, he nudged his shoulder with his own.

"Absolutely" he said, through gritted teeth. Viggo shot them a smile, turning to walk toward the Skrill by the bow of the ship.

"Hey! Don't you dare try anything!" Dagur attempted to rush to him but was halted by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"We'll be working with them now. Can you, at the very least, start trying to trust them?" Cutthroat muttered.

"What makes you think we can trust them?"

"With Dabria here, they definitely wouldn't try anything that would get them on Drago's bad side." They watched Shocker direct his attention to Viggo who stopped at a respectable distance, giving the dragon a detailed look-over.

"Impressive beast, isn't he?" he asked, his back facing the dragon who hadn't taken his eyes off of him yet.

"Incredibly rare. Wonder where Drago got his hands on it" Ryker commented, looking over at Dabria.

"Not my information to give." She walked to Viggo, "Now that you're somewhat acquainted, how about you boys get to work?"

"Now that you mention it, do you two have any idea where to start looking for a Screaming Death?" Cutthroat followed her lead.

"Not much to go on when it comes to a Screaming Death. Known to return to the islands they hatched on, and I don't suppose you two have found any places have you?"

"We've chased every lead we could find, but ended with dead ends and false leads." Viggo frowned at the information. Finding a Screaming Death was always going to be tough. They're not as rare as dragons such as the Bewilderbeast or Red Death, but they weren't common either. Dragons that hatched once every one hundred years should seem like a lot. But the fact that there could be hundreds of Whispering Deaths laying eggs, the chance of one of them being a Screaming Death egg was fairly good. Too bad they didn't have the time to tear up every single Whispering Death nest in the Archipelago.

"This would so much easier if we had it" Ryker spoke. This got Dagur's and Cutthroat's attention, while Dabria rolled her eyes.

"The 'it' my brother is referring to is a device that contains information on nearly, if not all, dragons known to Vikings. Information such as their ancestral homes, abilities, how to counter them and so on. If we had it, I bet there was information on the Screaming Death somewhere in it."

"What does this device look like?" Dagur asked.

"If I can recall correctly, round, the centre could be twisted, depending what lenses you have in it at the time. To make it work - for example if you wanted to research boulder class dragons, you'd get a boulder class dragon, such as a Gronckle, to shine the light of its fire into one end, and that light will show what's on the lens." He could tell Dagur was wracking his brain about it from the discomforting look on the man's face. What did Dabria get them into?

"Think Dagur! Think!" Clearly Dagur was on the border of insane watching him smack his head incredibly hard. "Oh yeah! Hiccup has that device! I knew I saw it somewhere!" He felt proud of himself. However, he was pulled out of his brief moment of success when Viggo grabbed his shoulders and face him.

"Are you saying you've seen it? With this person... eh, Hiccup was it?"

"Oh yeah" he responded as if it was common knowledge. "It was a while ago when we were scouting for dragons up north and we ran into him and his bunch of dragon-loving hippies on an old dragon hunter ship, called the R-"

"Reaper!" Ryker interrupted, looking at his brother who nodded in confirmation.

Viggo released Dagur, who proceeded to rub the wrinkles at the top of his tunic, shooting Viggo an annoyed look. "Ever heard of personal space, Viggo?" The question fell on deaf ears as Viggo shot Dabria a look, a 'I told you so' look. His arms went behind his back again as he retreated into his mind.

"Was that your only encounter with the group?"

"We've fought with each other a few times, but not that many. Maybe, five encounters tops?" Cutthroat said with an uncertain shrug of his shoulders.

"You also said they're dragon riders. What dragons do they ride?" Ryker joined in. Although she was wrong in not believing the Grimborn brothers, Dabria couldn't help the curve of her lips as the new partners got to work. It seemed like Drago knew how to pair his men up without even thinking.

"A Zippleback, Deadly Nadder, Monstrous Nightmare, Gronckle and a Night Fury" Dagur listed, counting his fingers as he listed them to make sure. Everyone, except for Cutthroat and Dabria, stared at Dagur, eyes wide with shock and bewilderment.

"What? Do you have something on my face?"

"A Night Fury?" Both brothers shared a look. "Never thought I'd have the opportunity to face one in this lifetime."

"Well don't get your hopes up because we have no idea where their base is. It definitely won't be on Berk since we've seen them in locations that are at least a four days' trip from there. And the fact we couldn't search for them because _someone_ -" Dagur glared at Dabria "-gave us orders to search for dragons." Dabria gave a shrug of her shoulders when Viggo glanced at her. "And besides, I already called dibs on the Night Fury's head."

"I was only following orders given directly from Cadman. But I'm assuming we are starting our search for these other dragon riders, correct?"

"We have to. If these renegade dragon riders have the key of unlocking every single mystery of all dragon species, who knows the advantages they'll gain over us and Drago's army?"

"Well brother, where do we start?" Ryker asked. Viggo looked back to Dagur, a calculating glint in his eye.

"Dagur, what can you tell me about each of these riders?"

000

"So everyone picked their partners yet?" The band of dragon riders had found a clearing large enough for all their dragons and enough space to pitch their tents up. They would do the latter after returning back to the camp site.

"I've got both of mine" Ripper hung his arm around Heather's shoulders, who also happened to be holding their son.

"Yeah, and it's pretty obvious who Hiccup is going with" Snotlout said, glancing to Astrid who was already coming to stand by his side.

"So that leaves you four. Is it going to be the twins and Fishlegs and Snot-"

"I'm with Ruffnut!" Both Fishlegs and Snotlout grabbed onto the female twin's arms. Astrid stifled in a chuckle while the other blonde sighed.

"Will you idiots let go!" She pulled herself from them and walked back to her brother and dragon. "I'm obviously going to go Tuffnut. I mean, I can't entrust Barf to just him alone."

"But that means I'm paired up with... Agh!"

"The feeling's mutual Snotlout" Fishlegs shot Hiccup a pleading look, begging him to over-rule the current pairings. Hiccup saw the desperation in his friend's eyes, but could only feel sympathy at his predicament. However this was something that both Fishlegs and Snotlout would have to work through. If Ruffnut wanted to be paired up with her brother, which was honestly the only way to go, then he had no say in the trivial matter.

"It's just until we get back to the camp site, guys. Until then, try and not bite each other's heads off." The comment was aimed squarely at Fishlegs and his cousin who were staring down each other.

"Fine" they both grumbled, folding their arms and heading out with their dragons. The twins were next to leave, followed by the departure of Ripper and his family and their dragons leaving only Hiccup, Astrid and their dragons in the clearing.

"So, where to M'Lady?"

"We can check out the lake south from here. What better place to scope for dragons than a water source?"

"And where did you happen to get information like that from?" he asked as they started their way south, a coy smile gracing his lips.

"You aren't the only dragon trainer out here anymore, Hiccup" she winked at him. The two continued small talk and playful teasing until they reached their destination. The lake was very large, looking at it from the ground, that is. Enough space for all their dragons to take a dip and have enough space between each other. Toothless and Stormfly both helped themselves to a drink, a bit tired from carrying all the camping gear for the whole flight and walking through the forest.

"This is a pretty lake" Hiccup commented, looking around to see if there was any other wildlife nearby. While he looked around Astrid took their water flasks, dipping them into water.

"I take it the water's drinkable?"

"Should be" she said, tying the tops back onto each flask.

"Should be? You're not going to make me test it first are you?"

"You know what, that's a good idea" she handed him his flask, "Bottom's up babe."

"Oh no. I'm not drinking that until you do and there's no way you can force me to drink that."

"You sure about that?" He saw the gleam in her eye. She always loved a challenge. However, it all stopped when both their dragons tensed up and turned to the treeline. Toothless growling with his teeth bared and arched back while Stormfly took a lower stance and had spines unsheathed. Both vikings didn't waste any time getting back near their dragons; Astrid getting her axe while Hiccup brought out Inferno.

"Where are they bud?" Toothless only kept growling, eyes darting around, trying to pick out where the enemy was. However, he quickly jumped, knocking Hiccup away and onto the ground before resuming his protective stance around his human. When Hiccup got up he noticed a few Nadder spines right where he was standing a few seconds ago.

"Wild dragons around here" he said. Astrid nodded in confirmation, eyes still trained on the forest. They didn't know how many wild dragons were out there. Could be only one or a pack.

"Maybe we better-" she was cut off when a Gronckle burst through the trees coming straight at her and Stormfly. Both viking and dragon dodged the rolling dragon before turning around to face it. But that was when a few Monstrous Nightmares, Deadly Nadders, Zipplebacks and more Gronckles flew in from above the trees, circling them. All of them definitely hostile.

"We can't take them all on!" Hiccup yelled, dodging a shot from a Nightmare.

"Ya think?!" Astrid yelled as she dodged multiple Nadder spines. "Let's get out of here!" She hopped onto Stormfly, while Hiccup did the same with Toothless; both dragons taking off and flying as fast as they could away from the lake. Hiccup looked back, surprised to see that the dragons weren't chasing them but were just hovering near the lake, staring at them.

"You seeing this?" he called out to Astrid. She looked behind too, having the same question as Hiccup. Why weren't the dragons chasing them?

"You think the others ran into the same trouble?" she asked him. Hiccup glanced in front of him before answering her question.

"We're about to find out" he called and pointed ahead. Astrid followed his point and saw the rest of their group coming at them.

"Were you-"

"-chased out by a pack of dragons?" Fishlegs finished what Hiccup was about to say. They looked around and the other two pairs nodded. "Hiccup, it was weird. We were checking out a hilly region not too far from the camp site but there were dragons waiting there... waiting for us. It was only thanks to Hookfang and Meatlug that they didn't get the jump on us."

"Same with us when at the lake. Different species of dragons, all working together had ambushed us."

"I think it's safe to say that all the dragons here don't take kindly to vikings" said Heather, comforting a former crying Asger.

"But why? It's not like we came here before" said Tuffnut.

"Uh guys, can we continue this conversation back at the Edge, because I don't think they're done with us" Snotlout pointed at a closing pack of Nightmares, Nadders Zipplebacks and Gronckles.

"Snotlout's right. Let's head out, fast!"


	6. Those Rare Nights

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! I literally binged the entire third season of RTTE in one night! And I'm glad I did. There were some things I wished for differently would happen, but I feel as if the series has improved with each season in many aspects. Anyway, it has definitely rekindled my passion for continuing this series on FanFiction.**

 **Also, not sure if you guys would like it, but this most likely might be a trilogy. I've got extra plans for this story, which I've changed the title for, and I hope you do watch the new season soon because I will be following that timeline and the adventures from it as well. But don't worry, I'll blast out a warning before the chapter that it contains spoilers for the new season.**

 **On to the new chapter then! I think you might like what happens near the end!**

* * *

000

"Safe to say they've stopped following us." Everyone looked back to the island, which now was a mere dot on the horizon. Their dragons slowed down, sensing their riders weren't in distress anymore and continued on towards Dragon's Edge. Ripper ushered Bladewing closer to Windshear, "How are you two doing?" He frowned as soon as he heard a few whimpers from Asger and looked to his wife. Heather silenced his doubts with a comforting smile, wrapping their son tighter in his bundle.

"A little shaken up is all" she nuzzled Asger's cheek with her nose, shushing his whimpers. "Would have been worse if it wasn't for Bladewing." Said dragon dragon flew closer to Windshear, sounding a few grunts in acknowledgement.

"Yeah. You did amazing back there" Ripper rubbed the scaly hide of the massive dragon's head. It was all over in less than a minute. They had opted to explore the cliff regions north of their campsite; possibly explore the caves if they had enough time. They could see the white-grayish cliff face through the trees as they neared the end of the tree-line. It was then that three Monstrous Nightmares ambushed the family from the rear. What made it frightening was that it was a coordinated attack. Windshear was tackled and pinned by one of the dragons, while the second one made its way towards Bladewing. The third was on a charge towards the family. Being the larger dragon, Bladewing charged right back at his attacker. He also didn't miss the last Nightmare charging at his rider and family. He wrapped his tail around the third Nightmare while barreling right into the second one, pushing and pulling both of them away from the Vikings. He pushed the Nightmare as far back as he could, ramming him into a group of trees, incapacitating it for the moment. For the one that was struggling against his tail, he lobbed it into the air before firing a few spines at it. The Nightmare dodged them, and distance itself away from Bladewing, who made his way back to Ripper. Windshear had also escaped her attacker and rejoined her rider. Heather and Ripper wasted no time mounting their dragons and backtracking to the campsite.

"So anyone mind telling me what the Hel just happened?" Snotlout asked the question that was looming on everyone's minds.

"I've never seen different species cooperate an attack. I don't even think the old Book of Dragons even has such incidents" Fishlegs cast Hiccup a worried look.

"Anyone notice anything strange right before you were attacked? Anything out of place? Something you might have done by accident?"

"I don't know by accident..." Snotlout drawled off, casting his eyes on the twins. His suspicion was quick in settling on everyone's minds. Within seconds of the suggestion, all eyes were on the twins and their dragon.

"Seriously? If anything bad happens why does everyone assume it was us?" Ruff crossed her arms over chest.

"Yeah! I mean, when was the last time _we_ did anything that jeopardized anyone?"

"Well there was the time you owned the island and didn't know how to handle the fireworm infestation."

"Then there was the time when you decided to keep all your boars in the club house that ended up eating a weeks' worth of food, when your boar pit was closed for repairs."

"And let's not forget when you guys installed your fool-proof booby-trap defense all over Dragon's Edge... without telling the rest of us."

"Okay, okay. You guys made your point. But for once, and this is a _big_ once in a very long time, we didn't do anything to upset the dragons" Ruff informed. "In fact we we were in the middle of picking some wild berries when some Nadders and Gronckles jumped us."

"This behaviour is rather unusual, Hiccup. Dragons don't normally attack if not threatened. Of course they're certain exceptions - such as the Skrill or Deathsong - but Nightmares, Nadders, Zipplebacks and even Gronckles? I don't know about you but I think this deserves more research" Fishlegs spoke.

"Yeah? Well count me out!" Snotlout's comment was emphasized by the strong gesture of his thumb at himself. "There's no in Hel that Hookfang and I are heading back to that island."

"I think Snotlout might be right on this one Fishlegs" Hiccup agreed with his cousin's statement.

"Wow, this is a shocker. Usually you don't agree with me on anything. Finally seem to be coming to your senses, huh Hiccup?"

"More like losing it, but back to the matter at hand," Hiccup turned his gaze back to Fishlegs, "I know this is something you're keen to investigate Fishlegs, but there's no way I'm risking your lives to get to the bottom of it. Until further notice, that island is off limits to all of us."

The topic was gladly dropped by everyone. Nearly everyone. From the corner of his eye, Hiccup noticed Fishlegs casting glances behind them; his brilliant mind, no doubt, being occupied by the recent events. Hiccup could sympathize with him. He really could. Even he felt that the dragons on the island should warrant an investigation, however, if there were more ferocious dragons - a Whispering Death - displaying the same aggressive behaviour, there was no telling how perilous the island might actually be. Even he wouldn't risk going alone. And he believed everyone else was going to stay as far away from that island as they possibly could. He always had a tough time ignoring adventure, even if it did try and kill him a few times.

Ever since his departure from Berk all those years ago, he had travelled the entirety of the Archipelago, spreading his knowledge of the peaceful and docile side of dragons - to Vikings who accepted it anyway. Dragon problem in a village? He, along with Ripper and Heather, would do anything to solve it and, at the same time, integrate dragons into the peoples' lives. They would spend days, sometimes even weeks, living in a new village until they were of no use to the villagers, who had just incorporated a dragon into its society. New species of dragon? He always carried his private journal around, sketching them down and any new bit of information he and his friends uncovered.

His thirst for knowledge and adventure wasn't just limited to dragons. Apart from roaming the skies of the Archipelago, he had made his way to the continent that he had seen countless times in maps he purchased from traders. That was how he inevitably got captured by the Romans, but apart from that skirmish, his travels yielded different and wonderful cultures, people, tastes, smells, knowledge, language - the lot. It was that same curiosity for the unknown that brought him, and his friends, out to Dragon's Edge. Returning to Berk did surface a few nostalgic times and cement many others, but he would always be the first one to brave an adventure into the unknown - no matter what the risks.

"Think he might do something about it?" Astrid's voice brought him back from his memory excursion. "Seems to me like he's dead-set about going back at some point."

"I actually do plan to go back as well." Hiccup saw Astrid was about to interject but continued, "But that won't be for a while. Those dragons will be on high alert for any other human presence so there's no point on even going back now. Besides, Fishlegs is too smart to go back there on his own. And I doubt Snotlout or the twins will help him."

"I don't know, Hiccup. I think he's picking up on some of your bad habits" she smirked.

"What do you mean by that? What bad habits?" Hiccup shot her an amused grin.

"Disobeying orders, for starters."

"First of all, I do not disobey orders." His statement was met with Astrid's incredulous glare. "Half of the time. But from what I've seen of Fishlegs and how close he's bonded to Meatlug, he wouldn't dare take her back there. Those dragons even attacked our dragons" he unconsciously patted Toothless' head. "I doubt he'd put her in reckless danger like that."

"If you say so."

"What makes you so sure that he'd go back?"

"Women's intuition. Men are bound to do something stupid at some point in their life or another" she smirked as she put some distance between herself and him.

"Sadly truer words have never been spoken" he muttered, despite the smile tugging at his lips.

000

The riders breathed a sigh of relief as the Edge came into view. It wasn't until then that most of them realized how close they'd come to being killed by the very creatures they sought to protect. However, they weren't going to dwell on the issue any further. Instead, they focused time and energy into organizing a small goodbye dinner for Ripper and Heather, who were leaving that night. The plan was to originally see them off in the morning after they spent the night on the island. None of the young adults were put down by that fact. In fact, it was convenient for them to be hosting the farewell dinner at the Edge where they had access to already built and personalized shelter, food, mead, and all the other creature comforts of living.

Fishlegs proceeded straight to the clubhouse, talking animatedly to himself about the dinner he'd prepare that night. It was uncertain of when the young couple would visit them again. Both shared Chief duties so both were undergoing vigorous and dull training under Heather's father. Hiccup and Astrid knew from personal experience how training cuts into one's time.

"Alright guys, just set up and relax. I'm gonna pop open a few mead barrels" Hiccup gestured to his hut, right before leaving with Toothless in tow.

"You guys don't have to go through the trouble, really."

"Oh, Heather, Heather, Heather!" Tuff chuckled, "You do not know how hard it is to have some downtime around here. With constant chores and missions provided by yours truly-" he pointed to Hiccup entering the clubhouse, "we have barely enough time to party!"

"Uh-huh. And yet you, Ruffnut and Snotlout find time every single day to, I don't know, ignore my chores, do what you like; almost as if you were on vacation or downtime." He racked them on a waist-high table before fixing a few taps to it. To fill your tankard, just pull the little lever to one side and let it go after you got your fill.

"That reminds me, where do you keep those barrels anyway?" Ruff asked.

"Obviously I would tell where I keep the stash of mead on this island that would, without a doubt, mysteriously disappear the nest day?"

"You are correct, sir!"

"Over my dead body." Hiccup started handing out tankards.

"That can be arranged, you know?" Snotlout muttered to the twins, who snickered in agreement.

"Should we be worried about them conspiring?" Ripper asked, taking a sip. "Mhm, this is pretty good. I take it you're sneaking a few of them from your father's cache, huh?"

"You know me so well." Hiccup took a sip from his own, "And they've been plotting way worse against me. Death would just be sparing me the torture" he chuckled. After each person filled their tankard, they moved to take their seats on the benches around the main fire.

"So Hiccup, any more dangerous trips planned? Cause if so, Ruff and I want in" Tuffnut started off the conversation.

"That reminds me, did you not do any early recon to make sure that island was safe?" Snotlout asked.

"I'm sorry guys. That situation was one hundred percent my fault" Hiccup conceded.

"Damn right."

"Completely."

"Who else's fault would that have been?"

Ignoring the jabs from Snotlout and the twins, "I just didn't expect that dragons like ours would attack for no reason."

"Do you guys plan to go back?" Heather asked.

"Not for a while. We're going to avoid that island until then. Those dragons are extremely hostile to any Viking."

"Until then it's just going to be more exploring, checking the Edge's defenses, drawing up new plans, chores, our own personal projects - pretty much the usual until our next big mission" Astrid continued on.

"That reminds me, Hiccup. Is your dad okay with you slacking off on Chief duties?" asked Ripper.

"First off, I'm not Chief of Berk yet. Second, my dad taught me the basic duties and jobs of the Chief. Since I was a fast learner he felt I could take an extended vacation until the next time he had to teach me."

"It actually has to do with the fact that he convinced his dad, one way or another, to let him explore and set up an Outpost somewhere" Astrid interjected.

"I'd say 'convinced' is a strong word" Tuffnut said.

"More like went behind his back, got us all involved and only when the Chief found out, then convinced him that the Edge would be a good experience to practice his new set of Chiefing skills" Snotlout finished off.

"Well, when you sum it up like that..." Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, unable to formulate a comeback. This caused nearly everyone at the fire to start laughing.

"I'm betting there are a lot more adventures you guys went on that Hiccup hasn't told me about" said Astrid.

"Oh definitely. The list of the amount of trouble we got ourselves into is endless" Ripper confirmed for her. "But most of them were Hiccup's ideas."

"Really? Pointing the finger at me? Let's not forget the Smothering Smokebreath incident." Thanks to the fire, everyone saw the reddish tint on Ripper's neck and cheeks. Coupled with Heather's laughter, this was something that they all, and Astrid, wanted to hear about.

"I thought we agreed not to bring it up?" Ripper said through gritted teeth.

"I agreed not to bring it up in Sharkslane, not anywhere else" Hiccup laughed.

"One day your smart-ass is going to get you killed" Ripper smacked his forehead. It was a futile jab since there was no stopping the story.

"So what was the Smokebreath incident?" Snotlout asked.

"While looking for a few wild berries in the woods I stumbled upon a cave. Bladewing at the time tried to prevent me from going in, but being the curious kid I was, I ignored him. He followed me to make sure nothing was waiting in there. What I found was a treasure trove of weapons and other house items. I couldn't help loading the best weapons onto Bladewing and leaving without giving it a second thought. I did plan on emptying the cave so I was eager to go back."

"In his defense we didn't know what Smokebreaths were back then. He just thought he found someone's not-so-secret treasure cave" Heather said in her husband's defense.

"Unfortunately-" Hiccup took up the storytelling, "that night the village was attacked and nearly every single item, metal spoons, forks, bowls, weapons, pots, equipment, prosthesis' were all taken and then some. The 'then-some' being some of the houses were extensively damaged and would need days' worth of repairs. And after we found out what the Smothering Smokebreaths are and their love of anything shiny, we came to the conclusion that they attacked was because Ripper took some of their most precious possessions."

"My father wasn't so pleased to hear about it, so while Hiccup worked on relocating the nest to some other island, Ripper was tasked with fixing every single house and piece of property damaged due to the raid."

"Five years on and people still haven't forgotten about it" Ripper complained, resting his face in the palm of his hands.

"Dinner's ready everyone!" Fishlegs called. The group turned to see him bring out some of the dishes. "There's a lot more, so I'm going to need some help."

"I'll help" Ripper stood up quickly, following Fishlegs into the kitchen, a bit farther from the laughter.

000

"Never thought I'd get away from those yak milk-drinking Berserkers." Ryker slammed the door closed to his brother's cabin. Viggo, who was currently examining scrolls, wasn't phased by his brother's outburst, not averting his eyes from the scrolls for a second. "Accepted into Drago's army even though they failed their mission. Giving a Skrill, of all dragons, to an insane, loud-mouthed, sloppy madman, and working with that Berserker who thinks he has a cock the size of a Rumblehorn. I'm starting to doubt why you accepted Drago's invitation to join his armada." Ryker folded his arms.

They had been doing incredibly well until they signed away their freedom to him. The most feared Dragon Hunters in the Archipelago and perhaps in all of current Viking civilization. There was no village or trading outpost that hadn't heard of the name Grimborn. And now, working under Drago, three quarters of their profits were lost due to bringing live dragons for his army. The rarer they were, the more value they were to Drago, instead of profiting off the dragon's scales, meat, hide, horns, claws, bone, or life, for that matter, on the dragon market.

"Relax dear brother" he folded the scroll and placed it next to the others. "It does seem we've fallen far from our glory days, but look at what's come from it so far - unlimited access to some of the finest resources, more men signing up for _our_ cause rather than Drago's, and most important of all." He stood up, strolling around his desk to come face to face with Ryker, "The recent discovery of the Dragon Eye's whereabouts."

"But was this time with Drago worth it? Our gold stores are running low due to the increase in men and we don't have enough dragons to make a profit for the increase in man power."

"Now that we have those two at our disposal," he hinted at Cutthroat and Dagur, "What's stopping us from turning them to our cause?"

"That girl Dabria, for starters. Do you really think they'll betray Drago? Just to make it a profit under you?"

"We'll have no idea until we try. Leave that to me though, brother. Don't take it close to heart, but you're not known for subtlety."

"Hey, the lesser I talk to them, the better."

"Besides, they haven't shown any hints of wanting world domination or power. And if Drago does achieve his goal, what's to say he'll put them in a position of power? What I'll offer them is a guarantee of power and profit. And if you must know, they don't like Dabria either. It's probably the only thing we have in common at the moment."

"Yer go that right. So, what's the plan for finding the Dragon Eye?"

"You remember the scroll I was reading just before you barged in?" Ryker nodded. "One of my spies sent me the delivery schedules of our favourite story-teller, Trader Johann. We just have to be at one of his stops before he does. If there's anything going on in the Archipelago regarding dragons and dragon riders, he'll definitely know about it."

"What makes you so sure he'd know something about the Dragon Riders?"

"Out of all the villages he visits, there's only one he talks about the most. A village where he claims to be wonderful friends with a few of their best dragon riders - Berk."

000

"What a day, huh bud?" Toothless warbled back at his rider, the two nearing their hut. The two were the last to say goodbye to Ripper, Heather and Asger who had just departed back to Sharkslane. It had been a delicious dinner, courtesy of Fishlegs. Quite a bit of mead was consumed too. The two small barrels of mead Hiccup brought were empty by the time everyone left the clubhouse to say their goodbyes. Snotlout and the twins were without a doubt snoring the mead away as he reached his door.

Toothless made straight for his slab, heating it before plopping down and wrapping himself in his wings. "Goodnight bud" Hiccup called out, met with a quiet grumble. After lighting a candle by his desk, he began undoing the straps of his leather armour, tossing them over his chair until he was in nothing but his red tunic and pants. Seating himself on the edge of his bed, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs as he stared ahead at the wall, the day's events going through his mind.

He didn't think any of them would forget what happened in the morning. He still had to think of a punishment for the four of them; Fishlegs not so much. He still couldn't believe Snotlout of all people saw Astrid in her underwear. However, based on his expression when underneath Stormfly's talons, there was a chance he might have forgotten it due to shear terror of facing down an angry Nadder and a bloodthirsty Hofferson. His curved into a grin; he had never seen his cousin, or Ruffnut for that matter, so terrified.

Then there's the whole fiasco of what happened on the island. It definitely begged to be looked into, especially when Fishlegs was determined to go back as soon as possible. It was no surprise that Fishlegs was left with questions leaving the island. What made them attack? Why did they attack? It definitely wouldn't sit well with him that Gronckles, some of the most lovable and docile dragons of them all, had attacked with the intention to injure or kill. Hiccup shared the same concerns. One day in the near future, they'll go back and find out what's troubling those dragons.

"But until then..." he spoke to himself, rising up and walking outside, stopping at the edge of the path and looking up at the cloudless night. He never pictured a future like this once he returned to Berk. Or if he returned. Fate was a curious mistress in the end. Speaking of which...

He glanced to Astrid's hut, noticing that there was a faint light outlining the side door. Well if she was up, what harm could there be in a visit? There was no secret as to why their two huts were relatively far from their friends' huts. After they had settled on a design for Dragon's Edge, Hiccup made sure that he and her were close as possible. And it was her own request that a side door be fitted. Facing his hut.

Even though she had assured him countless times that it was okay if he just waltzed through her door, he always knocked.

"Who is it?"

"The only one who isn't out cold on his bed." He could hear the smile in her sigh, and only made his grin grow.

"Well? Are you going to wait out there all night or come in?" Without delaying another second, he opened the door and slipped in, shutting it soundly behind him. She was seated on the edge of her bed, the fur cover pulled back a bit. She had ditched her shoulder pads, fur hood, vambraces and boots. She was looking right at him, at the same time running a comb through her unbraided hair. He took the sight of her and committed it to his growing memory of private moments with her. One leg nicely hanging over the edge, foot in contact with the wooden floor while her other leg was tucked underneath her and her blue leggings hugging each leg rather nicely.

He watched the comb's path through her hair, eyes following the wonderful way her hair fell back against her shoulder, already imagining the familiar texture of it whenever he ran his hands through it.

"You're already undressing me in your head, aren't you?" She brought him back to reality. She smiled when he had to shake his head and blink his eyes before making eye contact with her ... properly this time. "So what are you up to, Hiccup? You're not one to make house calls."

"To be honest I could really use the company."

"What's on your mind, babe?" She stopped her combing, bringing her hand down and laying it on her lap.

"It's just-" he leaned back on her wall, "I can't stop thinking about what happened today on the island." When he didn't hear her sigh, he looked to her, expecting her to be thinking of a response at least, but she was gazing back at him. She knew he had more to say. "I feel as though I didn't bother to attempt to find out what was wrong with the dragons. Normally we'd regroup and hide until the danger passes, but w-we just left. I-I know I said we'd come back some time in the future but... I don't know if I can wait that long."

"You also don't know if Fishlegs can wait that long?" He nodded. She patted the spot next to her. In four steps, he was seated, facing her. "I know you're concerned Hiccup. Not only about the dragons but also thinking that you're failing Fishlegs in some way."

"He looks up to me, Astrid. I know the twins and Snotlout do that in times of battle, but it's different with Fishlegs. Give us a new dragon and we'd go full on geek-mode together." She giggled at the true fact. She and the others had witnessed it many times. She suspected it was one of the few things Hiccup cherishes ever since he returned. He confided to her that neither Ripper or Heather displayed the same excitement Fishlegs does; despite being the best of friends for four years. There were times when she herself was interested in a new species of dragon, but she never went beyond that. Fishlegs even took it further than Hiccup. He would toil with a dragon for days on end. The baby Speed Stinger is a worthy example. Despite the dangers of being paralyzed, albeit for a given time period, he worked to rehabilitate that dragon as fast as possible to get it back to its pack. He made sure to note down and commit to memory the small details. What makes a certain type of dragon docile, agitated, what it can't and can eat, etc.

Leaving the dragons back on the island without even attempting to figure out what was wrong would have been hard on him, and she knew Hiccup saw it too. "Hey" she spoke softly, bending down so she could look him in the eye. "You made the right call earlier today. It was a tough call, but it was the right one. At the time, we assumed any and all dragons on that island would attack us. We couldn't take the chance. Especially since there was a baby involved." She dropped the comb beside her, placing her hand below his chin, tilting his head up so they were at eye-level, "We will go back, Hiccup. I'll come with you since the Gods know I can't let you or Fishlegs running around on a hostile dragon infested island."

"Thanks Astrid." She let her hand drop back to her side. It was comforting that Hiccup came to her for advice when he was concerned about members of the team. She guessed it was also about instilling him with self-confidence; the ability to trust his own judgment and decisions, despite what the others thought. And if she ever thought he was being unreasonable or ignoring their friends' advice, requests, or help, she made sure to beat it into his mind one way or another.

"Anything else you need?"

"Nah. Just needed a little pep talk."

"Glad to help." She looked down to her comb, a thought immediately popping to her mind. "Would you mind helping me with my hair?" She grabbed the comb and held it out to him. He did quick glance down to the comb, her face, her hair and then back to her face.

"Of course." He gently grasped the comb and she turned around, switching leg positions while he curled his left leg on the bed, making sure his prosthesis wouldn't come in contact with her rear. He trailed his hand through her hair, a habit he developed ever since the time he first saw her hair down. "What areas have you already done?"

"The sides so far, and halfway at that."

He pulled back his hand gently, making sure he brought along the centre of her hair and started combing it. He believed he would never tire of running his fingers through her hair. It always brought a sense of intimacy that bordered the line with their more rapturous and insatiable moments of making love. If he was performing this same act on a bench in Berk where everyone could lay eyes on them, they might as well be making love since that's what their society saw it equivalent to. It was only known for close couples, married people, to tend to the grooming of one another; especially when it came to the hair. Personal hygiene might have been an issue on Berk, but personal appearance was on the other end of the personal maintenance spectrum. At times Vikings smelled appalling, however you could only deduce that after being close to a Viking. Personal appearance on the other hand; you can be seen from every direction and you damn well make sure you're looking your finest.

Astrid never had trouble with that. Her mother made certain that her daughter looked absolutely stunning ever since she came of age around ten. It was a necessary attribute that she drove into her daughter's mind. Not only deadly with any weapon she could get her hands on, but would steal the hearts, desires and eyes of any man who laid eyes on her. After all, her first name wasn't Astrid for nothing.

Hiccup had finished the bottom half of her middle, and also did her sides a few times in case she missed a few hairs. He moved the comb to the top of her scalp, tracing it through her hair, watching the light from the candle bounce off the golden silk strands. That's what it felt like in his mind anyway. His eyes trailer over the exposed skin of her arms and the back of her neck every time he moved some of the hair to the side. Skin that was always covered up when they were in Berk or even in Dragon's Edge; her fur hood covering it up, followed by her braid. Hiccup did find joy in being one of the few people who's seen the parts she covers up. Her parents, and probably Ruffnut, being the others.

"All done." He laid the comb down by her night-stand and ran his fingers again through her hair, checking for any knots.

"Thank you, Hiccup." She sighed when she felt his hands on her shoulders; the heels of his palms digging into her shoulders blades while his thumbs pressed in the area below her neck. She couldn't resist leaning back, silently urging him to continue his actions.

"Someone's pretty stressed." She could feel him smile, moving some of hair over her left shoulder, exposing her neck digging his palms harder into her shoulders.

"Keeping you in line and on task is pretty stressful."

"I don't think I show you enough gratitude." His face moved shifted closer, taking in her scent, mixed with the fragrances of rose oil and lavender. She could feel him breathe in through his nose, feeling the air depart the area above her neck; feeling it return seconds later, through his mouth and incredibly warm and moist. His thumbs dug into her neck, adjusting the pressure based on her reactions. She rolled her shoulders experimentally, already feeling the stress dissipate. Her sighs and soft moans were evidence of that.

"Last night was more than enough gratitude." A soft gasp escaped her lips when she felt his warm, wet lips take the place of his thumbs, slowly working their way up her neck, leaving a cool trail in their wake. His hands moved from her shoulders, down her sides and landed on her waist. She leaned back into him, determined to feel more of him since the departure of his hands. His lips retraced their path down her neck before branching off to the side. She giggled when the small hairs along his chin and jaw grazed her neck. Her giggling turned into a sharp gasp when she felt his teeth latch onto her pulse point, and began the sensual work of licking the area with his tongue before sucking on it. She instinctively pushed her arse against his groin, grinding against the growing bulge. His own hands found the hem of her tunic, making their way underneath and feeling the skin of her abdomen, slowly making the journey towards her covered breasts, burning every bit of skin they travelled over.

"Hiccup..." Her whimper was music to his ears. He couldn't help the grin against her neck. The fact that only _he_ could make the fiery Astrid Hofferson so wanton for him only inflated his self-confidence when they were in the bedroom or any hidden, private area. Without warning, she pulled away from him - creating a popping noise when his lips left her pulse point - turning around, grabbing a fist-full of red tunic and smashing their lips together. He had been driving her insane with sucking on her pulse point and hands running amok under her tunic. She needed to fill some part of him under lips or hands.

The position, though, was far from comfortable. She disconnected the kiss, much Hiccup's displeasure, stood up to face him, forcing him to bring his legs over the edge of her bed, before she straddled his lap, one hand tangling itself in his hair while the other wrapped around his neck, and captured his lips again. His hands slipped underneath the waistband of her spiked skirt, quickly tracing the curve of her arse through her leggings before gently cupping it. He felt her smirk against his lips.

"Someone's adventurous." She pulled away, tracing his jawline with her lips and nipping at it with her teeth.

"I wouldn't necessarily say that." He withdrew his hands, unclipping her skirt without with learned hands and tossing it to the hard, cold floor. With the spiked obstruction out of the way, he ran his hands along her thighs, squeezing them, feeling her strong and capable muscles that secured him in place on the bed. Years of repetitive training - running, stance work, flips, rolls - had left her with legs that could crush a man's pelvis. He should know. His hands departed her thighs, tracing the curve of her arse, watching her facial expressions as he moved them slowly and meticulously; applying various amounts of pressure when fondling it. From multiple make-out sessions, he learned that cupping Astrid Hofferson's arse was a major turn-on for her.

And a death sentence for anyone else who dared lay a finger on that area. She disclosed what he deemed was valuable information. Every time his hands found her rear - cupping it and fondling it on rare occasions - in a possessive manner, she always felt electrified. To her, the night was going to get a bit more sexy. A bit more hands-on. And a bit more rough.

And she revealed very early on in their sex explorations, that she liked it rough.

"It's just what you said to me this morning." He hummed against her lips. "Something about staying in this room the whole day-" His kisses continued along her jaw, working his way down, "If I had walked in on you." She moaned when she felt him plant a sloppy, wet kiss on her neck. "You gave me ideas that I was dying ... to try out." Leaving one hand on her arse, he moved the other up along her back, cursing the tunic he had yet to remove from her, and cupped the base of her head, before smashing her lips against his in a hot and needy kiss. To reduce the space between them even further, she had one hand grab a fistful of his luscious auburn locks while the other grabbed the front of his tunic.

It was a duel of who could leave the other more speechless. Tongues battled it out in each other's mouths. However, a few minutes of tongues grinding and interlocking with each other, no clear victor could be decided. Both refused to submit to the other. Astrid eventually ended it, withdrawing but dragging his mouth along with her. Except he wasn't releasing her that easily. In a last-ditch effort, he nipped her bottom lip before letting go, watching it bounce against her upper lip. He flashed her a cocky smirk as they regained their breath for their starved lungs.

"My turn." Releasing the grip she had on his hair and neck, her fingertips ghosted over the front of his tunic, applying just the tiniest bit of pressure on his chest, enjoying the obvious shiver and sigh he made in response. And she hadn't even touched his skin yet. She hooked her fingers at the hem of his shirt and lifted it up in one swoop, quickly discarding the garment next to her skirt on the floor.

She took her precious time ogling her lover's body. It wasn't what the traditional Viking society would call attractive, but she couldn't care less about the idiotic norms set by their conservative ancestors. Hiccup might not have the traditional build of a proper Viking man, but six years of dragon riding and blacksmithing have, and will continue to leave their marks on him. The insane speed and agility of a Night Fury required a prowess very few people possess. Sure she herself has flown on Toothless, but not to the ragged edge that Hiccup has. The ungodly speed and sudden turns would cause any ordinary Viking to black out due to the forces acting on them. Hiccup has had to learn how to, for lack of a better term, _become one_ with Toothless. He's had to prepare his body every time Toothless takes a sharp bank going at full speed. He's had to hold on for dear life; tightening all his muscles, bracing himself for the inevitable forces that will play on him when he pulls out all the stops flying Toothless. Even holding onto Toothless as he whistled through the sky. And how about the six years of working in a smithy? Handling heavy materials and items by himself, hammering with the combination of brute force and a delicate touch, constant repetitive strikes that require an eye for detail and a virtue of patience. His skills in the forge always found their way to the bedroom, where Astrid saw him utilize those same talents with her. And she loved him dearly for that.

The candle light perfectly illuminated the many hard and defined muscles adorning his body; the way his pecs rose and fell with every breath, the detailed ridges of his abdomen, the lines clearly defining the biceps and triceps in his arms. She ran her hands over his lean shoulders, following a small pattern of freckles that stopped at his shoulder blades. She had his back nearly memorized. A result of de-stressing him through her private massages, reserved only for him. Those sessions, which unregrettably let to more vigorous and proven de-stressing techniques, were where she enjoyed feeling and gazing at his back. The power she felt when he sighed and moaned as her fingers undid the knots caused by the day's, or week's, problems. Feeling his strong, stiff back go numb after a few seconds under fingers. _Watching_ those muscles relax... She could just ravish his entire body.

She laid a hand on the centre of his chest, gently pushing him down onto her furs. She kept her face level with his as he fell, gazing down at him once he was flat on his back. She traced his arms, gripping the muscles while he flexed them. He knew just how well he turned her on. Even still to him, only the Gods knew why, what and how Astrid found him extremely attractive. He would never get over it. She began with sweet,l gentle kisses on the lips, slowly trailing them down his chin and jawline to his neck, her tongue leaving a thin veneer of saliva down his neck. She could always taste a hint smoke, mixed in with a bit of leather, whenever she licked his neck. A combination unique only to him. She covered his chest with light kisses, applying teeth here and there. She skillfully trailed her teeth across the scar over his chest. It always made him shake with excitement, and urged her to go on.

However, reaching the waistband of his pants, he pulled himself up. She matched his actions but smiled slyly when his hands hooked themselves at the hem of her tunic. In a matter of seconds, her red tunic had joined the floor. He ran his hands up and down her back, watching her face closely, seeing how he responded to his touch. It instilled a sense of pride, knowledge and intimacy that only _he_ knew what _she_ felt like. How the muscles of her back felt. The reactions she made, bodily and facial expressions, every time he ran his hands all over her. What her breasts looked like, how they felt and how they tasted. And most important of all, how she responded to _his_ touch.

"You know, pleasuring each other is a two-way street, right m'lady?"

"Then by all means, dragon boy." She brushed her nose with his. He started with the creamy white skin just above her breasts. She arched her chest into him, letting her head fall back as she closed her eyes to savour the treatment. His hand made no move to undo her bindings. Instead, the hand holding the small of her back, came up to cup her right breast. This time, she held onto him, silently cursing him for not getting rid of the obstacle. Knowing Hiccup though, he probably had something planned for her. Her suspicions were confirmed when he found her hardening nipple through the single layer and latched his mouth onto it.

"Hiccup." She hissed his name like fire through her lips. The sensation of his teeth pinching the ever growing sensitive pebble through the fabric, surrounded by moist, warm heat from his mouth, was breathtaking. She tangled both hands into his russet locks, keeping his mouth firmly planted on her breast. Since there was no way she was going to pull away, Hiccup brought his hand from her back to cup her other breast, giving it the same prior treatment of her right breast. Those hands of his - she had a few words to describe them; when she wasn't being turned to mush by them - magical, mesmerizing, powerful, addictive. Those same hands that spent nearly half its life in a smithy, forging remarkable weapons from the toughest materials, beating out anything that could corrupt the finished product. And just as she learned recently when he made Berk home again, the attention he gives any weapon that's brought in for maintenance; whether scratches need to be polished out, handles need to be replaced, or a total make-over was required, he would put in a hundred and ten percent effort to restore it to its former glory. She remembers watching the joy in the faces of Vikings, young and old, men and women, when retrieving their weapon from the smithy after dropping it for service; all saying the same thing - "It's just as if it were brand new!" Her lover made sure to apply the same respect, love and care when it came to her.

He treated her as though she were a goddess - a daughter of Odin and Frigga. She suspected he still held a few insecurities. One of which involves her growing tired of him. She'd smack him upside the head for even thinking that. She didn't understand why he couldn't see that _he_ was all she wanted. Perhaps she didn't know how much she truly meant to him. Either way, she'd make sure to show him that she was never going anywhere.

Instead of switching his mouth to take her other breast through the thin fabric, he seized the top of the binding with his teeth, pulling it up and freeing her breasts from their confinement. While his mouth latched onto her left breast, she brought one hand to get rid of the clothing for good, pulling it easily and throwing it somewhere in her room. His free hand occupied her right breast, palm massaging the underside while his thumb and index finger pinched and pulled at her nipple, eliciting whimpers and moans that were as sweet as the honeyed mead they had consumed that night.

She felt his mouth suck the air around her enclosed nipple, flicking it and tasting it with his tongue. It was when he applied teeth to the mix that really did it. She pressed his face harder against her chest. Any more pressure and she might smother him. Hiccup smiled at the thought. _Hiccup Haddock III - smothered to death by Astrid Hofferson's breasts_. That would certainly be an interesting way to die. After he applied the same attention back to her right breast, Astrid reluctantly, pulled his face up for a heated kiss. As his hands caressed her face, her own traveled down south, undoing the lacing of his leggings; right hand delving into his underwear to stroke the already hardened cock.

"Lay down." She breathed, eyes closed as she focused all attention in setting a perfect stroking rhythm. He did as commanded, using his elbows as support, lowering himself onto her bed. She on the other hand, slid off his thighs, kneeling down at the edge of the bed between his legs. Hooking her fingers around his underwear and leggings, she pulled them to his knees once he lifted hips; his shaft flicking straight up, tall and proud. She edged closer, resting her forearms on his thighs as she began stroking him with both hands.

He had himself propped up on his elbows, watching with glazed eyes as she eyed his cock with a predatory hunger. If not, then he clearly imagined her licking her lips not once, but twice. She raised herself a bit more, so now she was looking down on his still impressive weapon. She gazed down, wetting her lips one more time before looking back at him. Without breaking eye contact, she ran her tongue from the base right to the tip of the head. His eager cock throbbed in anticipation at the treatment it was about to receive. He watched her run her tongue in small, slow circles around the head, before applying a gentle kiss on the top. He knew he looked ridiculous; jaw hanging wide open, eyes glued to hers. He dare'd not move, risking an end to her actions. Blissful sighs followed her actions of licking and kissing the length of his cock, preparing it for the inevitable. Still stroking his length, she looked at him, "Bottom's up." A loud moan came through his lips when he watched her go down on him. She went down as far as she could possibly go. She was still not a master of deep-throating him but she was getting there. She came back up, gasping as she released him before going back down on him, this time in long and torturous patterns.

Each time she took his cock, he could feel her tongue swirling around it, dragging back as she came up before repeating the same actions going back down. She made the sucking noises evident, moaning as she blew him, enjoying the salty taste of his skin. Hiccup pulled himself into a seating position, still watching the blonde beauty devour his cock with a hunger he couldn't believe. She gazed up at him, no pause in her actions, taking pleasure in the sight of Hiccup's expression. The way he hissed, moaned and whimpered as she ran her tongue along his shaft, kissing the head and grazing her teeth along the flesh, was something she always held close to heart. She did it so she could pleasure him, make him feel like molten lava.

"Oh Gods... Astrid." he gathered her hair at the base of her neck into his fist, holding it to the side; preventing it from disturbing her. Her hand followed her mouth as she sucked his cock. Spreading her saliva to areas where she couldn't reach. With each stroke and suck, she felt the rod twitch, encouraging her on to finish it. But that wasn't her aim right now. She could swallow his essence some other time. She just wanted him hard and ready for the real show.

He pushed her head down, all the way he dared to go with her; listening keenly whether he was causing her any discomfort. She coated his cock in much saliva as she could, running her tongue as fast as she could around the whole shaft. At the same time gazing up and feeling proud as she saw Hiccup with his eyes closed and hissing unintelligible words in response to her actions.

He let go of her hair, allowing her to pull back up with a loud gasp, opening his eyes just in time to see a thin trail of saliva from her lips to the top of his cock break. Gods, was he turned on right now. She smirked at his expression, bending down to plant a soft kiss on the head before being pulled up herself by him into a standing position, lips locked. It was another fervent kiss. Her hands tangled themselves with the auburn locks at the base of his head while his hands slipped underneath the waistband of her leggings, giving her arse a tight squeeze, making her arch into him.

He slowly disengaged from the kiss, leaving her light-headed from sucking all the air out of her. He moved aside as he grabbed her elbow and pulled her towards the bed. She followed without question, the front of her legs buckling as she hit the edge. She let herself fall onto her hands and knees. Thinking he was going to pull down her underwear and leggings, taking her right there, she arched her back inwards, sticking her arse out and looked back at him. His deep chuckle made her spine shiver, however she yelped in delight when he tipped her onto her back before climbing atop of her.

"That's a first. You actually turned me down." She giggled as he leaned on his left elbow near her face while his right hand trailer down her body, squeezing her breasts and trailing feather lines over her stomach, before seeping under leggings and underwear. Her giggles stopped when his hand came in contact with the small blonde hairs just above her clit.

"Hardly." He brought his face closer, watching her expression closely. She matched his faze, but that changed when he ran his middle finger over her sex. A second later, he trapper her vaginal lips with his middle and index fingers, and began massaging the area; lightly squeezing her lips together and running his fingers over it.

"Dammit Hiccup." She tried to reach his lips for a kiss but pulled his head back and smirked at her pained expression. Those blue emeralds of hers, staring at him with a desperation that could only be cured by giving her what she wants. He continued his stroking of her entrance with his fingers, already feeling a warm, wet and familiar sensation. Perfect. She was ready.

He lowered his head and captured her lips just as he plunged his middle finger into her hot and eager pussy. She shifted a bit underneath him, moaning into the kiss and squeezing her thighs, effectively trapping his hand. He pulled away slowly, regretting the look in her eyes. This was a vulnerable side only he ever saw. Never has anyone seen her like this; in this begging and rather submissive position. She was always one to take control of a situation; dictate it to her liking. Her giving up that so he could be dominant with her displayed the amount of love and trust she had in him.

His index finger entered her cavern, picking up slack where his middle finger left off. The soft mewls and whimpers coming from her mouth were nothing short of wonder. If someone had told him six years ago that Astrid Hofferson would whimper, moan, and mewl because of him during sex, he would have deemed them even more insane than himself. "Hiccup..." She turned her head to the side, her hands grabbing fist-fulls of the fur covers underneath her. Hiccup meanwhile nuzzled her cheek with his nose, moving down her body. He kissed the hardened pebbles of her breasts and dug his tongue into her naval before arriving at the location where his hand disappeared under her leggings. He looked up to her. She was still squirming; moving her head from side to side, taking in short breaths before making whimpers. All this because of his two fingers penetrating her alternatively. Plus it didn't help that his thumb was rubbing the sensitive nub just above her sex.

She noticed when his hand stopped its movement and completely left her, leaving behind only a very wet entrance and an unsatisfied Astrid. She propped herself on her elbows, staring down Hiccup who was looking right back at her. He smiled as he knelt down on the wooden floor, grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him. "Finish what you started, Haddock!"

"I always do." He hooked his fingers around her leggings and pulled them down, along with her underwear, to her knees. He adjusted her hips a bit closer to the bed so his face would be right in front of her sex. He could already see his fingers had done to her; already left traces of her fluids on her thighs near the entrance. She really was too far-gone. He'd have to pick up the pace. So without any further delay, he held onto her hips and plunged his talented tongue into her waiting sex.

Astrid clawed her way up into a seating position when she felt Hiccup's tongue go to work inside of her. "Gods...Hiccup-" She tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him in place against her sex. She could feel his tongue flick her walls, drawing out long, feather-light licks that, in a stimulated, hot, and wet pussy, were driving Astrid insane. Hiccup managed to bring his hand to the golden fuzz area above her entrance, and began rubbing the sensitive nub, tripling her pleasure.

"Yes...Your tongue...s-so ma-magical." She pushed his head against her harder, hoping his tongue would go in deeper. Not only did it go deeper, she could feel him reach for the deepest part of her. He was pressing his mouth against the entrance, the hard ridges of teeth pressing against her sensitive clit. He also had a firm hold on her hips, keeping her in place so he could do his work. He soon began a penetrating pattern, taking his tongue out until on the tip was inside er before pushing back in; doing both long and slow thrusts and short and fast.

Astrid bit her lip to suppress a scream. She was so close to the edge, and he could tell. He sped up his thumb's rubbing and pressure as he wiggled his tongue all around her walls, lapping up any and all of her sweet fluids he could taste. It was the final push she needed. "Hiccup!" He loved it when she screamed his name, watching her body shake uncontrollably as she rode the waves of her orgasm. He took in as much of her fluids as he could, while some of it drenched the sheets below them and her thighs. She released his hair, falling back down onto the sheets as her orgasm subsided, golden hair spread like a veil underneath her. She felt Hiccup lick the last of her orgasm off her thighs, planting a few tender kisses here and there before pulling back up.

If it wasn't for the orgasm that made her melt, his warm smile would have. She watched him rub his mouth with the back of his palm, effectively removing any trace of her on him. He bent down and pulled her underwear and leggings completely off her, dropping them at the edge of the bed.

"Ready for the grande finale?" He stroked his cock. It lost a little bit of its hardness, but nothing that the warm, hot, wet, tight cavern of his lover's sex couldn't cure.

"Need any help?" She gestured to his cock.

"Just one position should do." She rolled her eyes. She suspected as much he'd want that after she got into it earlier. It wasn't something to fret over. She rolled onto her hands and knees and faced the backboard of her bed, giving him a complete side view of her. She turned her head and grinned at him, again arching her back in so her arse would stick out more. And it did do the trick. She could tell his cock reverted back to full mast, and stayed in that position while he settled behind her. He grabbed her hips while gently running his cock along her entrance, wetting the head for easier penetration.

"Hiccup..." She was becoming extremely frustrated with his delay. "Quit taking so lo-hmpf." He silenced her quickly; the head of his cock slipping between her folds. Then gripping her hips in a firm hold, he eased the rest of his cock in, aided by the remnants of her orgasm. The two moaned in unison once he was all the way in. He adjusted his grip and shifted his knees a bit. Meanwhile, Astrid spread her thighs a little wider and pushed back into him.

He could see everything from above. He watched her back contract for a brief second, outlining every single contour of muscle before loosening again. It was beyond mesmerizing. He nibbled his bottom lip, keeping one hand at her hip while running the other along her side, gently over her breast and stopping at her neck, brushing away her hair to one side. He stooped over, his strong core keeping him from falling over her, and kissed the back of her neck. At the same time, he began an excruciatingly slow grinding pattern, keeping his hips firmly pressed against her gorgeous arse while going through a few rocking motions.

"Oh Thor..." The tingling sensation his lips were generating, coupled with the rousing grinding were only adding kindle to the ever growing fire burning within her core at the pool of her abdomen. As much as she wanted to him to fuck her, she was thankful he was taking his own time. Despite living on an island a days' trip by dragon-back away from the watchful eyes of their parents, they rarely had the luxury for taking their time in the bedroom. With the constant chores and individual projects they were undertaking, and the continuous dangers of being interrupted by the twins or Snotlout, they only had time for quick sessions. That wasn't to be the case tonight. With the trouble-finders completely knocked out until morning, they could be as loud as they wanted and take their own, sweet time.

Since he wasn't driving into her for the moment, she took the time to _really_ appreciate his cock. How it easily filled her up every time he thrusts into her. How he always speared it into her, having her beg for it on the more passionate and hungry nights. "By the Gods, Hiccup..." She raised her head. He took the opportunity to kiss the exposed side of her neck while his hand massaged the sensitive underside of her breast.

"I'm going to have my way with you tonight." His husky voice sent shivers down her spine as he whispered it right into her ear. He gave a particularly vicious thrust as he finished his sentence. The action released a very high pitched feminine gasp from her. He smiled. Only _he_ ever heard her gasp like that before; with his name running off her tongue. His busy hand left her breast and grabbed her cheeks, turning her head a little so he could press his cheek against hers; his mouth near hers.

"And you're going to like it." He captured her lips; his hand backtracking and hooking around her chest. His tempo immediately shot up. And so did the force of each push. She whimpered into his mouth, unable to even put up a fight with her tongue in the kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds, pulling himself back up and his hand reclaiming its hold on her hip.

She had already fallen onto her elbows the moment he began his onslaught. This was a side of Hiccup she saw on few occasions. His dominant persona coming out of the kindhearted, sweet, and gentle man her heart and soul belonged to. Then again, this was the time where she enjoyed being on all fours like a farm animal for Hiccup. She didn't want to be in control, contrary to many peoples' beliefs about her. It was nearly impossible for her _not_ to be turned on by Hiccup's dominant side. The times when she loved him forcing her onto all fours while he assaulted her from the rear. And many a time through the session, she'd fall onto her elbows or arms would give way completely, leaving her grinning face pressed against the grass or mattress.

"Astrid.." His grip on her hips tightened, nails digging into the sensitive flesh that would surely leave marks.

She turned her head, gazing back at him to see his eyes shut tight and biting his bottom lip with his teeth. That was another upside of being submissive to him. He was completely, without a shred of uncertainty, drunk on her. Just as she could be submissive to him, she could just as easily refuse. So Hiccup always made it a point to drain her of any ounce of energy by the end of their love-making. To show her that it was worthwhile.

"Hiccup." He opened his eyes, glazed over with pleasure, and stared down at her. Her lips in an 'o' shape, unable to make a gasp, whimper or moan, but could make a high-pitched, short gasp. His left hand reached for her hair, grabbing a fistful and wound a bit more around his closed fist, and he pulled back. The action caused a sharp inward arch of her back and a yelp to escape her lips. The angle allowed for deeper penetration and a greater, sexier slapping noise of his hips against her arse.

"You like that?" She never heard his voice that deep before.

"Yes. Yes! I fucking love it!" He released her hair, wrapping both arms around her chest this time as he forced her front down to the bed. He made her maintain the inward arch of her back, so he'd have the best possible access to the deepest parts within her. She left her arms out straight while he pressed his chest into her back and whispered dirty things into her ear, which remarkably, brought her closer to her second orgasm. By now his cock was propelling in and out of without any difficulty. Her fluids had lubricated it so well that he could pull out, right till only where the tip of his cock was in her before ramming it back in; every thrust creating a wet, slapping noise. She could even feel her excitement running down the inside of her thighs.

"Come on Astrid. Cum for me." He unwound one of his hands wrapped around her chest and began rubbing the hyper-sensitive nub on the inside.

"I-I'm g-gonna... cum s-soon. Fuck me Hiccup!" Her wanton moans were bringing him nearer to the edge as well. However, just as the times before, he would hold out until his beloved reached her high. With one final, sharp bite onto her earlobe, her resolve gave out.

"Hiccup!" The sound of his name bounced off the walls of her hut. He could feel the sudden and extreme wetness of his cock; some of her fluids squirting onto his thighs. He could now join her in ecstasy. With a loud, guttural moan of her name, he gave one final thrust inside her before releasing his seed. They rode the waves of bliss together; Astrid's body ceased its tremors half a minute later while Hiccup kept his cock firmly implanted inside her, grinding a few times to make sure he completely emptied himself inside of her.

He propped himself up on his fists, back still hunched over, but enough space for her to push up onto her elbows. He kissed her sweat-stained shoulder and nibbled the inside of her neck, eliciting a few giggles from her. She turned her head as best as she could and connected lips with him. A little tongue mingling; nothing as ferocious as some time earlier, but just as sweet and just as passionate.

"Did you like it?" His voiced returned, after the post-coital kiss.

"Loved it." He held her tight again and nuzzled his face into her neck before getting up and pulling out. She collapsed onto her side a second later. She heard the metal steps go across the room before returning to her bedside, the light following him. He had put out a few candles, bringing the last one with him and setting it on the nightstand. She turned around, facing his back. He was seated on the edge, hunched over; obviously untying his prosthesis.

"Think you can sneak out by daybreak?"

"The others won't be up until mid-noon. I can sleep in." He laid the metal leg down before blowing out the candle. He grabbed the furs and pulled them over their naked bodies. Astrid made sure to get as close to him as possible, arm wrapping around his torso while copied her actions. "Sleep well, M'Lady."

"Goodnight Hiccup."

* * *

 **So a bit of Domcup at the end. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I will try and update University Life at some point as well. Maybe in the next two weeks. Also, I think I might change the title of that story as well.**

 **Take care!**


	7. Hunters

000

"Come on girl, just a bit farther" Fishlegs coaxed his dragon. He made sure to skimp out on the mead that night. It isn't that he didn't enjoy drinking with his friends. On the contrary, he constantly welcomed the chance to sit down with his friends over a mug of mead and swap stories, and teasing, and make merry. It was where he got his knowledge on Snotlout's and the twins' over-consumption of mead, knocking them out for half of next day. He was more concerned about Hiccup and Astrid. The two were never as careless with their mead consumption as the others. However, after witnessing Hiccup venture into Astrid's hut and never exiting, he knew he was in the clear.

Hiccup wouldn't be coming out of her hut until the sun's first rays in the morning.

"That reminds me, I should think of an explanation when Hiccup finds out we're missing, girl." No matter how docile and lovable Meatlug was, she gave an unimpressed look, grumbling as if to say 'You think?'

Fishlegs couldn't help the reddening of his cheeks. "Well if you're gonna be like that, why didn't you refuse? You also knew the dangers of going back too, Meatlug." He took a deep breath, and his dragon groaned in concern for him.

"Something was definitely wrong with those dragons, Meatlug. There was absolutely no way I just going to sit back for Thor knows how long while those dragons could be in serious trouble. There'd be no way I'd be able to live with myself." The enormous grin Meatlug bore was just the image he needed to turn his frown upside down. If there was any other being that understood him, apart from his parents, Hiccup and to a certain extent Astrid, it was certainly Meatlug.

"What would I ever do without you, girl?" He hugged her thick neck. She licked his hand in response, before grumbling a bit, clearly informing him about something. He disengaged from the hug and looked ahead, the outline of an island appearing on the horizon.

Fishlegs' brief elation at the thought of getting to the bottom of the mystery was quickly replaced with a sense of dread and fear. Those dragons had worked together to herd them into a single location. If they hadn't left as fast as they did, he was sure someone could have been seriously injured. Or worse. But now, it was only him and Meatlug.

He tried to look at the positives. It was only him and Meatlug. He didn't have to worry for anyone else's safety, despite how rude that would seem. Since Meatlug was small she could also hide with him if things got a bit heated. He was sure there were more upsides but the negatives soon made themselves evident.

If he was cut off from Meatlug, he knew there'd be little chance of survival if he was facing a dragon. Since Meatlug was small, there was no way she'd win in a fight against the bigger dragons. He knew she had a lot more fight in her than other Vikings give her credit for, but that could only go so far. And by the Gods, if something were to happen to Meatlug...

He quickly shook his head, dispersing unnecessary thoughts. This was no time to be having second thoughts; not when the island was already in sight. The dragons' behaviour had been plaguing his mind the entire day, and by Odin was he going to get to the bottom of it. Besides, he knew that Hiccup and Astrid would be speeding along towards the island with the others in tow, the moment they find out he's missing.

000

Normally Astrid would never let the first rays of morning beat her to her daily routine. By the time the rays peaked over the horizon, she would be atop Stormfly, whizzing around the island; getting the dragon's morning exercise while conducting an entire island perimeter check from the air. On a few occasions, she would even stop by her training spot and toss her ax at some unfortunate trees. All of that could take a rain-check for today.

Her lover's warm body prevented her from leaving the covers and embracing the cool morning air; even within her hut. Feeling his heart beat against her back, his warm breath against her neck. She missed these quiet moments.

She turned around with careful movements, trying not to rouse him awake, taking in his partly opened mouth, auburn bangs covering half of his eye.

"You really need to try to be more subtle." He smiled, opening an eyelid.

"Or maybe you're becoming more mindful of surroundings, even when asleep. Seems like I'm rubbing off on you."

"In more ways than one" he glanced to the infinitesimal space between their bodies.

"Keep all your 'raw-Vikingness' contained for now, understand" she said, poking his chest.

"I don't know. It always comes out when there's a drop-dead gorgeous shield maiden in the same bed with me."

"I bet you say that to all the shield maidens."

"Nope, just one" he gave a tender kiss which she gladly welcomed. However, when Astrid introduced her tongue into the mix, things quickly escalated from there. They ended up ditching the covers as she straddled his lap and tangling her hands in his luscious locks. Hiccup began trailing his hands along the contours of her back and tracing them through her hair. Their moment though was interrupted when they heard a squawk and a few thuds on the roof. They both sighed simultaneously, leaning their foreheads against each other.

"Your dragon is really starting to become a bad influence on Stormfly."

"Yeah well, the last time I didn't listen to him, the roof didn't have enough in it to hold up." Astrid gave him one last kiss before getting off him and out of bed, picking up his prosthetic. He moved to the edge of the bed and she began fixing it for him.

"You know you don't have to, right?"

"I know, but I want to" she smiled up at him. "Just right?" She asked once she was done.

"It's perfect. Thanks Astrid."

"You don't have to thank me, Hiccup. Now, enough chit-chat. I don't want your dragon bringing down my roof."

000

"Alright girl, this was the place where we were attacked." The tranquil rolling hills adorned with shrubbery and a few trees betrayed what had transpired just the previous day. Gronckles and Monstrous Nightmares had chased them out of the area faster than Tuffnut could down an entire cast of mead.

"First thing's first, have to search for any signs of Dragon Root." A growl from Meatlug then caused him to think otherwise. "You're right girl. Most Boulder Class dragons are immune to its effects. There has to be another reason why your kind would attack."

He spent the rest of the morning, up until mid-noon, scouring the area, leaving no stone unturned; anything that could explain the dragons' behaviour. His efforts turned up naught by the time the sun was setting. He had even traveled to the lake where Hiccup and Astrid had gone to, hoping to find any clue.

"Well that was a total waste of time." He slumped against his dragon, reaching for his leather-skin flask and downing the remaining of his water. "Spent the entire day searching and we're no closer to finding out what's wrong, girl." He pulled out his trusty Book of Dragons and began flipping through the pages, seeing if he missed anything in the behavioural section.

"Let's recap - unprovoked attacks, extremely hostile - there has to be I'm something missing." He glanced to Meatlug, who stared right back at him with her lovable eyes. However, a few seconds of staring at his dragon, replaying the previous day's attack, one thing stood out - the dragons only had their sights on them, as in the riders, not their dragons. Their shots and charges were never towards their dragons.

"Hmm, now that is interesting." He couldn't help but smile at the breakthrough. "Meatlug you're a genius!" He hugged the dragon's thick neck while she gave him a sloppy lick in reply.

"So these dragons don't like humans very much. But to find out, oh Thor" he realized his predicament. He would have to lure a dragon into attacking him. And he wasn't so sure Meatlug could hold off the bigger dragons if they were to attack.

"Ah well, I should have expected something like this to happen" he mumbled to himself. Being the bait, that's what the Twins and Snotlout were good at, especially the Twins giving their complete lack of fear attributed to shear luck and stupidity. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but where are the Twins when you need them?" He patted Meatlugs' snout. She nuzzled his hand and gave him a caring look.

"I supposed we'll have to manage on our own, girl. But I think we better get back, Odin knows I'll hear it from Hiccup." He mounted his dragon. "If he's not already on his way here." He said sadly. He really hated going behind Hiccup's back, and Astrid's.

However, before he could take flight, Meatlug tensed up, ears flicking in different directions, eyes turning to slits and growling. Fishlegs noticed this change immediately and tried to hunker down on her, which is easier said than done for a man of his size.

"Okay girl, let's get of here nice and-AH!" A pack of Gronckles had burst through the treeline while Monstrous Nightmares and Deadly Nadders had flown in and were hovering right above them.

"Odin help me." He squeaked as he surveyed the opposition. There was no way they were going to get of this unscathed. He had the lake behind him and dragons covering his only escape routes. A Monstrous Nightmare fired a shot at them, immediately followed by a spine shot from a Deadly Nadder, forcing Meatlug back towards the waters' edge. The Gronckles meanwhile closed in on them. Meatlug fired a few lava blasts in front of her, attempting to slow them down. Meanwhile the Deadly Nadder from above continued its pressure, flying close to them and firing a few shots in front of them. Meatlug was right now on the waters' edge and the dragons had closed in, with the Deadly Nadder landing in front of them and two Monstrous Nightmares remaining in the air.

"I swear by the All-Father that I will not disobey any more orders from Hiccup if I can get out of this." He glanced to the sky, hoping someone was listening up there.

"You better not!" Fishlegs looked back ahead as a plasma blast hit the ground between him and the Nadder, and the relieving whistle of a Night Fury as he saw the black shape whiz across the darkening sky before turning back around. In fact, a few spine shots and fire blasts followed Hiccup's attack and he saw Astrid atop Stormfly land in front of him.

"I'm surprised you pulled this stunt, Fishlegs." She remarked, glancing back at him as Stormfly shot a few more flames, forcing the dragons back. "It's right up Snotlout's alley."

"I am so glad to see you guys! Where are the others?"

"Still out cold." Hiccup joined them, hovering in the air while Toothless fired a few more blasts to disperse the threat from the air. "The moment we found out you were missing, Astrid and I took off immediately." He then noticed more dragons flying in.

"Did you happen to find any sort of shelter while you were here! We have more incoming fast!"

"There's a cave not too far, east of here!"

"You two head there now, I'll draw them away!"

"Got it!" Astrid replied and took off, providing some cover while Fishlegs had the chance to lead them there. Toothless shot at the Nadder on the ground, gaining its attention at once before flying west, with the Nadder and a few Monstrous Nightmares in tow.

"Come on, Stormfly!" Astrid urged her dragon and they chased after Fishlegs, not without company however. The Gronckles on the ground were following them, but not closely. Astrid quickly reached Fishlegs' side, "How much farther?"

"It's right at the foot of that hill!" He pointed straight ahead. "Meatlug and I were gonna camp there in case I decided to stay the night."

Meanwhile Hiccup had trouble losing the dragons he was leading away for the moment. If he flew any farther, he might have had too many dragons for Toothless to handle, and had to start heading to the cave. The Nadder was still on his tail, always flying down and nipping at him, trying to pull him off Toothless. If not for his dragon's agility, he would have been swooped up a while a ago.

"What is it with them!?" He yelled, looking back and quickly directing Toothless down to avoid an accurate spine shot, directed at him. It didn't take him long to find the others. The angry horde of dragons being kept at bay by Meatlug and Stormfly in front of the cave gave it away. Toothless flew low, firing precise plasma blasts to create an opening for him to land. Once he did, Hiccup quickly got off, running to the tunnel while Toothless took his place with the other two dragons, defending the tunnel.

"I'm guessing no luck losing the other dragons?" Astrid asked upon his arrival.

"They're out there." He gestured to the entrance, noticing that their dragons weren't really firing any shots or charging, only growling.

"That's weird. I thought they'd be attacking them."

"Fishlegs here filled me in what he thinks is happening. Tell him, Fish."

"With pleasure. So, after hours of searching and coming up empty-handed I was ready to give up and call it a day, but when I looked at Meatlug, a realization hit me. Those dragons were attacking _us_ , not our dragons. If that makes sense. You see I was skeptical at first, but then I recalled the last day's events and I couldn't be wrong about this."

"It does make sense. Those dragons I tried to lead away were mostly interested in me. In fact one time, it seemed that they were trying to get Toothless away from me."

"You see! That proves my point. These dragons have something against Vikings, or humans, as a whole!"

"That's not reassuring Fishlegs, since our dragons are the only thing stopping them right now." Astrid looked to the entrance where the situation appeared to have calmed down.

"That right there-" Fishlegs walked closer to the entrance "-is what I mean. Maybe if we show them we mean no harm, then I think we'll be alright."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"I think I may have an idea." Hiccup pulled Inferno, loading a new cartridge.

"I'm not so sure, Hiccup." Astrid voiced her concern. "Those dragons seem like they want to rip us to shreds. Yes you may have Inferno, but still..."

"I'll be fine Astrid. Our dragons will make sure nothing happens to me." He flashed her an encouraging smile. It didn't do much to ease the fear that something might happen to him.

"Then I'm coming with you, and I won't take any 'but's', got it?" He raised his hands in surrender and walked to the entrance, with her close behind, and a reluctant Fishlegs as well. As soon as they stepped foot outside the cave, within eyesight of the wild dragons, their previous calm demeanor vanished, immediately taking aggressive stances, as did their own dragons.

"Easy bud" Hiccup laid a hand on Toothless' snout before walking up ahead. He walked straight to the Nadder, who seemed to be the leader of the group. He ignited Inferno, beginning to move the blade around slowly. The sudden appearance of a fire and the fluid motions seemed to calm the Nadder down, and in turn the dragons under it.

"Hiccup, do you see that?" Fishlegs called out.

"See what?"

"Its chin, in fact, its whole body." Intrigued, Hiccup moved closer without missing a beat in moving Inferno. He crouched down lower, so as not appear as a threat and moved slowly towards the dragon. Thanks to Inferno's flame, Hiccup saw what Fishlegs meant. He lowered his sword down, slowly reaching his palm out to the dragon, and looking away. It was a tense wait but the dragon pressed its snout to his hand.

Astrid released a breath she didn't realize she was holding in, and moved forward, cautiously so as not to startle the dragon. The dragon allowed her to also place a hand on him. Seeing as now the dragon didn't see them as a threat, she began examining what Fishlegs had mentioned.

"These are all arrow, sword and... are those chain scars?"

"Oh my Thor, no wonder why they were so hostile towards us." Hiccup raised Inferno, looking at the other dragons and noticed more scars on their skins as well.

"They're all like that." He breathed.

"Who would do such a thing?" Astrid rubbed the dragon's snout. She had an extremely soft spot for Nadders, and seeing this one with so many scars just boiled her blood. She couldn't imagine Stormfly going through what the dragons before them had.

"Dragon Hunters." Hiccup said with disdain.

"Dragon Hunters?"

"I encountered a few over my travels. Never stayed too long to chat with them, believe it or not." He joined Astrid's side. "They look to profit off killing dragons - scales, hide, horns, bone - you name it. They'll be able to put a price on any part."

"So these dragons were all survivors." Fishlegs gazed sadly at the group. "Wait until I find them..." he fumed.

"That'll have to wait. For now, we have to head back." Hiccup rubbed the Nadder's chin before going back to Toothless and mounting him. Astrid and Fishlegs followed suit. "I still have to think of a suitable punishment for you when we get back." He smiled in Fishlegs' direction. Said man paled a bit when he heard, getting a few chuckles out of Astrid.

"You didn't think we forgot did you? Having me and Hiccup fly here at full speed once we found out? Every action has a consequence, Fishlegs." She laughed as they took off.

"I know, and I'm prepared for whatever punishment you have for me Hiccup." He puffed out his chest.

"Oh yeah, Astrid's gonna be deciding your fate." Fishlegs' chest deflated instantly, and he didn't miss the calculating smirk Astrid adorned.

"Eep."

 _Squawk!_

The trio turned around to see the Nadder they had just befriended, along with the other dragons, flying after them.

"I thought we just became friends!" Fishlegs panicked.

"Relax Fishlegs, I think they're following us because they like us. Guess the Edge can make room for a few more dragons." Hiccup smiled.

000

"And so there I was, surrounded by a band of bloodthirsty thieves, half of my guard was cut down and-"

"You really expect us to believe that Johann?" He was suddenly interrupted.

"Well you lot could judge for yourselves if I was allowed to continue." He harrumphed. "I must say, weren't you all taught to listen and then speak?"

"Bah, it's not worth listening since we all know half of ye' stories are all fake. Come on boys." The crowd left the table he was at. Johann sighed, taking a swig of his ale.

"Ruffians, the lot." He muttered. "No one's got the sense of adventure these days."

"I beg to differ." He recognized the voice that sat across him. He carefully raised his eyes and paled when he saw Viggo Grimborn, sitting across from him, mug in hand and a smirk that sent chills down any man's spine.

"Oh, eh, w-well would you like that. T-time for me to be of-" He felt a large hand grip his shoulder, keeping him down. He glanced behind him and saw Ryker, his expression telling him he'd want to listen to his brother. "But I can make time for a man of your stature."

"I'm sure that was an interesting story you had going on, Johann, but I'd like to know your more famous stories."

"Such as." He gulped.

"Berk and its dragons."


	8. Old Ties

000

He couldn't feel anything. It was almost as if every one of his physical senses ceased to work. He didn't hear the laughter or the merriment or the chatter of the tavern nor did he feel the wood of the table his hands were resting on. He couldn't feel or hear his own heartbeat. He couldn't be mute for long though. Viggo was not one for any sort of delay. "Eh, beg your pardon sir? I'm afraid my hearing isn't what it used to be."

"That's a first." Ryker smirked beside him.

"Come now little brother, don't want to make our old friend feel more uncomfortable as it is." He shot Ryker an amused smile, before turning his attention back to Johann. "You heard me right, Johann. Don't make me repeat myself."

"Well i-it's just that t-there are so many d-dr-dragon riding villages popping u-"

"Really? I thought Berk was the only village that incorporated dragons into their life? Are you telling me there are _more_ villages, like Berk, popping up?"

Johann raised a finger, about to speak before the realization of what he said just hit him. He immediately shut his mouth and lowered his hand, paying new attention to his mug. "Don't stop now Johann, please continue."

"Eh, did I say more villages? W-What I meant was the one and only Berk! I've no idea where I came up with another village-" The presence of Ryker's log of an arm across his shoulders silenced him.

"You've done a rare feat, Johann. Something that few people have done - grasped my curiosity. Now, enough beating around the bush. My brother over here isn't a big fan of stories, but I am. So I suggest you tell us everything you know about Berk and this other village."

Johann let out a defeated sigh. There was no use in withholding information from Viggo Grimborn. "What exactly do you wish to know, Master Viggo?"

"How did Berk incorporate dragons into its society?"

"It was done by its heir, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. At the mere age of fifteen he shot down the infamous Night Fury-"

"That's impossible. No one's ever seen a Night Fury and lived to tell the tale about it."

"Hush brother, this is getting interesting." Viggo turned his attention back to Johann.

"Master Hiccup is an amazing blacksmith. He always had this knack for improving weapons or building ones that only his imagination can come up with. It was that brilliant mind of his that came up with the contraption that he used to shoot down the Night Fury. Although, the rest of the village and his peers were quick to dismiss that claim-"

"I can't imagine why." Viggo glanced to his brother once again with furrowed brows, effectively silencing him.

"Even I find it hard to believe that he did in fact shoot down a Night Fury. I can understand his villages' point of view. Continue, Johann."

"But he wasn't deterred. The next day he scoured the forests near Berk, planning to cut out its heart and bring it to his father to prove himself a true Viking."

"Was he not loved by his own people?"

Johann's face turned solemn. "At the time, sadly not. You see, Master Hiccup was different from his peers the moment he was born. A wee little thing that no one thought would survive his first winter. Even as he got older, he was a toothpick by Viking standards. And it was that brilliant mind of his that kept getting him into trouble, especially with his father, Chief Stoick. Vikings were just not used to accept his way of doing things. But, let me continue with the story. Where was I?

"Him trying to prove himself a true Viking."

"Ah yes, well when located the dragon, he couldn't bringing himself to kill the poor beast. He looked absolutely terrified and waited for his death as Hiccup raised the dagger, preparing to carve open the dragon's chest. Instead, he cut the ropes and let it escape. Curious as to why the dragon let him live after he freed it, he visited the dragon in Berk's cove, studying its behaviour, eating habits and growing closer to it by the minute. In the end, he managed to befriend the dragon and restored its flight by building it a new tail-fin. Over the coming weeks, he learned to fly the dragon, and everything seemed to going so smoothly. That all changed when his father returned from a hunt to find the Dragon's Nest. Someone tipped him off that Hiccup had befriended a dragon. Stoick didn't want to believe it, but found out for himself. He captured the dragon and his son before they could escape and sentenced them to death. However, with the help of a close friend, they managed to escape the execution and flee to another village. After hiding for five years, they eventually returned to Berk where they were able to resolve their differences and well... that's how they became known as a dragon riding village."

"That's a lot to take in."

"Without a doubt. Most people brand me a moron when I tell them the story, only in a bit more detail, and an eternity longer." He chuckled, more so for himself.

"I can imagine why. Tell me, what is the name of this other village?"

"Sharkslane. It's an ally of Berk."

"I see. And do you know who are the leaders of this village?"

"Treeroot and his son-in-law Ripper Bonemold."

"Never heard of them." Ryker spoke up.

"I'm not surprised. They like to keep to themselves. They left Berk to take centre stage when it comes to dragons. In fact, not many dragons call Sharkslane home. As far as I know, only Ripper and his wife are the only ones who ride dragons in the village."

"And do you know what dragons they are?"

"A Whispering Death and Razorwhip."

"Hard-to-come-by dragons" Ryker noted, already thinking of a future payday.

"I see why they don't have a need for many other dragons. Those two can do well enough protecting the entire village. And how close is this Bonemold character to Mr. Haddock?"

"Incredibly close. You could say they're blood brothers."

"They must have been through a lot during their days on Berk."

"Incredibly so. Mr. Bonemold was like a big brother to Master Hiccup during their childhood years. He was there for him whenever his father berated him in front of the village, a shoulder to cry on. Always defended him from the bigger kids and his cousin-"

"His cousin was one of his tormentors? Not much of a family if you asked me."

"Going back to my point about Hiccup being branded a toothpick at a young age - useless, a screw-up and much more. His cousin seemed to embody the definition of a Viking back then. However, when Mr. Bonemold came into the picture, he and Hiccup were like stink on a yak. He was the man who helped Master Hiccup escape his execution."

"I'm presuming that's how they ended up on Sharkslane. After they had escaped."

"Correct Mr. Grimborn. Lived in Sharkslane for four years before they parted, with Hiccup leaving to travel east."

"And do you know where Hiccup is now?"

"Ehm, not so sure. Last time I saw him, he was on Berk. Don't really keep in touch with the chap."

"Come now, Johann. There's nothing that goes on in the Archipelago without you hearing about it. Coupled with the fact that you trade with Berk regularly, and judging by what Hiccup told you, are good friends with him."

"Eh, I'm afraid I don't quite understand.."

"The emotions you were able to convey, Johann, could only be done if he told you them himself, and assuming he wouldn't do that with every person he comes across, he obviously considers you a trustworthy friend."

He heard the gulp Johann made. "Now, I'm going to ask this one more time, where is Hiccup Haddock?"

"I-In a p-place called Dragon's Edge. But I've never been there! Only the dragon riders and a few Vikings on Berk know its location! I swear!"

He wasn't comforted Viggo's chuckle. "That's all I wanted to know, Johann." He nodded towards the door, and Johann watched Ryker get up. "It's been a pleasure Johann. Thank you for the telling story of Hiccup. It'll help me evaluate the kind of person he is. Take care." And with that, the Grimborn brothers exited the tavern, leaving Johann to contemplate the biggest mistake of his life he's ever made.

"By the Gods..."

000

"This isn't too bad, is it Meatlug?" Fishlegs looked to his dragon, who was effectively wearing four floor scrubs, soaked with water, on her feet and moving them about the stable floor. Thankfully Astrid hadn't given him the more dangerous chores she normally had reserved for Snotlout or the Twins. Meatlug growled, giving Fishlegs an amused look as she gestured to her feet.

Fishlegs shot her a sheepish grin. "I know girl. But I really wouldn't be able to do this without your help." That seemed to please his dragon as he saw her pupils turn big and round again. She would have gone to his side to give him a deserved lick, but the last time she tried that, her legs went in opposite directions. "We're almost done girl. I'll make sure to place an extra heaping of your favourite rocks today!" His dragon's tail-wagging told him he'd be forgiven by the end of tonight.

"I hope you've learned your lesson Fishlegs." He turned around to see Astrid, along with Stormfly, entering the stables.

"Oh, most definitely. I will never go behind your's or Hiccup's back ever again." And he meant it. Astrid gave him an easy first pass. He wouldn't be so lucky if a second time came around.

"Good to know. Although, I understand why you did it." Fishlegs stopped his scrubbing, standing up to face her. "Your love of dragons nearly rivals that of Hiccup's. But you of all people knew Hiccup was going to go back and study those dragons. You should have waited." Fishlegs looked to his feet in shame. He never ever pulled a stunt as such. He was always rational when it came to plans, especially plans revolving around dragons. Flying to that island alone was beyond a rookie mistake. It was a completely bone-headed, spur of the moment decision. If it wasn't for Hiccup and Astrid arriving when they did, he'd most likely never made it out.

What's even worse is that he never wished to disappoint Hiccup or Astrid. Her tone indicated he did. It was like a mother talking down to her child. By the Gods, he was twenty for Thor's sake. "I know, Astrid. And I'm-"

"But it's definitely something Hiccup would have done." He gazed up at her, surprised to see a smirk on her lips. "I swear, he's rubbing off all his qualities on you."

"Huh, you're right." A smile crept up on his own face. "Even though he would have been in way more trouble with you."

"That would be an understatement." She laughed. "I know you always think things through, Fishlegs. But if you ever think of flying anywhere, always make sure you have someone watching your back. And Mealtug's as well."

"Yes ma'am." He saluted her, spirits up that she, and most likely Hiccup, weren't as mad as he'd thought they'd been.

"When you're done with the stables, join us at the dome. Hiccup and I will be taming the dragons that followed us." She hopped onto Stormfly and took off.

"Save the Gronckles for me please!" Fishlegs yelled back.

000

"So, did your chat with Johann reveal anything?" Cutthroat walked into Viggo's room.

"Very. Surprised that you didn't think of it sooner."

"I'm going to ignore that jab. So, what did he fill you in with?"

"A bit of Hiccup's past-"

"I could have filled you in on that."

"I prefer reliable sources." He glanced up, finding a small amount of amusement in Cutthroat's glare. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, a bit of Hiccup's past - his life back on Berk, his friendship with Ripper Bonemold, and the name of the location of where the he and his friends are."

"I sense a 'but' in this..."

"But he doesn't know where the island is exactly. And I had no reason to question him."

"Can't believe you didn't. I would have at least threatened to cut his beard off."

"See, that's where we differ. You just take pleasure in making people beg for their lives, causing untold suffering to them and their loved ones. When Dabria told me I'd be working with a new partner, I didn't know they'd lack self-control."

"And what makes you so different from me? You may be a 'businessman', as you love to call yourself one, but you have your brother do all your dirty work for you. All you do is lurk in the shadows, only revealing yourself once your opponent has been defeated and then ending him by your hand, when you had nothing to do prior to it. So forgive me if I'm not begging for your respect."

"Are you finished?" He was met with another glare. "Good, because now we can focus on getting the Dragon Eye back from the Riders."

"Hold on a minute." Viggo sighed irritably, glancing up from the scrolls on his table. "We're supposed to looking for the Screaming Death. The big, white, red-eyed dragon that Cadman tasked us with?"

"Tasked _you_ with. I'm here to collect what rightfully belongs to me."

"And I'm sure Dabria is thrilled that we're disobeying a direct order."

"I can't believe you got as far as you did with Alvin when you captured Hiccup and his lover." When Cutthroat didn't interrupt, he continued, "The Dragon Eye is a device that reveals all the secrets about any dragon in existence. All that information is engraved on lenses that have been scattered throughout the Archipelago. Since there's a lens for every dragon and class of dragon, I'm sure we can find something on the Screaming Death while we're at it."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"Any Viking with a brain could have come to that conclusion."

"You love belittling your partners, don't you?"

"Only when they deserve it. Now, what can you tell me about Hiccup and his friends from your brief encounter with them."

"Nothing much to tell. I only talked with Hiccup's girlfriend, Astrid Hofferson." He grinned at a memory, "Threatened to kill her and nearly raped her in front of Hiccup to have him reveal the whereabouts of Dragon Island."

"You really are a class act."

"And chopped off his leg."

"I can imagine he wasn't happy with that.."

"I'm pretty sure his friends, especially Ripper and Astrid, would love to put my head on a spike if we ever cross paths again."

"Then you better hope your fighting skills haven't deteriorated since your last encounter."

"I will revel in that moment. I have unfinished business with Ripper and Hofferson." He smiled.

"Well then, I'm sure you'll be happy in helping me locate their base." Viggo gestured to the map on his table.

"Yes I would." He placed his palms on the map, looking at the pins and symbols Viggo had placed. "I'm assuming you've reached some of your contacts about him?"

"I did. But based on previous sightings, it's impossible to tell where exactly they come from. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Hold on, you're asking me for suggestions?"

"I know I teased you a bit, but we're partners. We have to work together whether we like it or not. Now, have any suggestions?"

"If we can't pinpoint their exact location, then maybe we ought to find someone who does know it. But the only people I can think of is Stoick. And I know he'd kill me as soon as I was in Berk's sight."

"Then we just have to find someone who does know where he is. Someone close to him, someone who's like an older brother to him." Viggo smiled, as his eyes went to the village of Sharkslane on his map.

"I think it's time to pay Ripper a visit."


	9. Family First

**A/N: Been a while eh?**

000 _(4 Days Later)_

"How are the dragons doing?" Fishlegs turned towards Hiccup, with Toothless by his side.

"A few of them have gotten all but used to humans. Others though..."

"Haven't warmed to the idea of interacting with humans. I see."

"But don't you think that's a good idea? They are wild dragons after all, and the less confrontations they have with Vikings, the better it is for both sides?"

"I suppose so..."

"I sense a huge 'but' in this." Fishlegs rolled his eyes.

Hiccup gave him an unamused look before continuing, "But what do you think is going to happen if some Viking unwittingly came across a dragon that has an above average hostility towards Vikings?"

"I understand where you're coming from Hiccup, I really do, but we can't control everything. If we can't train those dragons, then we can't force them to accept Vikings. Not after what they experience at the hunters' hands."

"So you're suggesting that we just release them as they are now?"

"That would be the best thing, Hiccup. But I'm not too worried. After what they experienced, they'll go out of their way and settle far away from any Viking settlement. So I'm pretty sure we have nothing to worry about releasing them." He shot Hiccup an encouraging smile.

Hiccup breathed out a huge sigh. He never liked giving up on dragons, especially ones that could pose potential threats. But if there was anyone's opinion on dragons that he highly valued, Fishlegs' was one of them. "Alright, set them free. Make sure you keep a safe distance from them, Fishlegs."

"Oh don't you worry, I most definitely will." Fishlegs shot him a smile before heading to do just that, Meatlug following obediently behind him.

"Guess I can't change all dragons, can I bud?" Toothless crooned in agreement.

"Hiccup!" He followed the direction of his name to see Snotlout running towards him, Hookfang close behind.

"Snotlout, what is it?"

"Hunter ships...approaching from the east...fifteen of them." He breathed.

"That's more than they usually send. Something's off."

"Come on Hiccup! This is not the time to outsmart Viggo! We have fifteen Hunter ships, heavily armed on their way here. We gotta get all the riders in the air now if we want to take them near the sea stacks." Snotlout said as he hopped on Hookfang's neck.

"Got it Snotlout, head to the sea stacks and we'll meet you there shortly. And don't start the attack until we get there!" He reminded him.

"Well better get moving Hiccup!" His cousin said as he took off.

As Hiccup watched him fly, he couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of his head that this was just a distraction of some sort. Viggo wasn't the kind of man to charge head first into a battle unless he had some ulterior motive.

"I'll figure it out as it goes on." He concluded before hopping on Toothless and heading to gather the rest of the riders.

000

Heather heard the familiar sound of the front door creaking open and being shut with a thud, and an audible sign following it. She didn't have to turn to see who it was "Rough day?"

"You know, you are the technical heir. You'll have a lot to catch up on when Asger reaches nine months." Ripper said as he hung his cloak over his chair by the fireplace and proceeded to lay down by the playing baby on the fur rug. Little Asger immediately turned his attention away from the toy dragon, a stuffed Razorwhip, and began to reach his stubby little arms for his father.

"Come here my little warrior." He sat crossed legged and placed Asger on his legs.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you can recap what you learned and tell me. There's no reason why I can't learn the politics of the tribe and take care of Asger."

"But that doesn't involve you sitting at meetings with ornery, old men, who are too busy trying to further their own agenda instead of focusing on improving life for the whole village." Heather turned, only to have warmth filling her chest as she watched her husband playing peek-a-boo with Asger. She knew very well what Ripper has to go through when attending those meetings and shadowing her father. It didn't help that he wasn't born in Sharkslane. Most of the council men had voiced their concern with her father about a foreign Viking taking over the Chiefdom once he stepped down. Luckily her father wasn't bothered by their attempts to instill doubt in her husband. He knew better than them.

"You know..." she started slowly, grabbing his attention as she slid down next to him, "...I don't know if I do this often, but I hope you do know how much I appreciate you doing this. I know it can't be easy for you facing those stubborn, old oafs alone but I love how you're going through this for the good of this tribe in the long run." She rubbed his upper arm lovingly.

"You know you don't have to thank me. I knew what I'd be getting myself into once we exchanged vows. Besides, knowing that you'll have to suffer the same way I do makes it all the more worthwhile." He laughed when she smacked his arm. "That reminds me, I promised Bladewing I'd train with him tonight. It's been a long time since we sparred." He placed Asger into his wife's arms as he got up retrieved his cloak and sword.

"You'll be back by sundown as usual right?" Heather asked as he opened the front door.

"At least. Might stay out a bit longer to make up for the time Bladewing and I lost. See you later babe." He gave Heather a kiss on the lips. "Take care of your mom while I'm gone, kid." He ruffled Asger's hair, as he bid the two goodbye and closed the door behind him.

000 (7 Hours Later)

"Oh she's going to kill us!" Ripper said as he jogged through the village, Bladewing close on his heels. He heard his dragon growl in disagreement. "Oh I don't want to hear it from you. If she kills me, it'll be on your head. If she doesn't decide to kill you too."

The two had lost track of time and before they knew it, it was well after sunset. Half of the village was already retiring in for the night while the rest traded their day's work with each other in their Hall. "But hey, if she knows me she'll have expected this right?" He asked Bladewing, who returned an empty stare, which was ironic because of his milky white eyes. "Yeah, I think I'm as good as dead." He said as he reached his house, but was cut short when Bladewing jumped in front of him, body tense, teeth bared and spines at the ready.

"Bladewing what's wrong?" Ripper couldn't understand why his dragon was so agitated. Unless... "Heather!" He called as he ran past Bladewing and to his front door, kicking it open, only to find the fire still going, but no sign of Heather or Asger. "Heather! Asger!" He called their names as he looked around the rooms. He ran upstairs, checking every corner and cabinet of each room, and yet no sign of his wife or son.

"Heather!" He was in full panic mode. She said she'd be at home. There was no way she'd have gone anywhere with Asger without telling him first. His dragon's roar brought him out of his panic trance. Bladewing must have found something in the stables. Ripper made his way down to the stables behind the house in record time, only to find Bladewing next to a sleeping Windshear. However, as he got closer, he discovered what appeared to be the remnants of cotton bag with traces of "..Dragon nip." He tossed the grass away as he turned his attention to Windshear.

It was easy to deduce that Heather and Asger were kidnapped. Whoever had taken them had made sure that Windshear wouldn't pose a threat. And from the amount of dragon nip that was used, she'd be out for a while. That's when he noticed a piece of paper stuck to her snout. Once in hand, it didn't detail much, except a rendezvous point away on a nearby island.

He tossed it to the ground where Bladewing was all too to happy light up, disintegrating the paper in the blink of an eye. In the next moment they were up and away, ready to bring Hel to the people that would dare harm his family.

Bladewing was not a fast dragon, but could sense the danger that his family was in. Within no time, the island came within view. He could see a campfire on the beach, with people huddled close by with...dragons!?

"What the..." He shook his head. He'd find out soon enough who he was dealing with. He brought Bladewing down by the fire. Hopping down, and finally able to get a close up on the people that would dare endanger his family, who he saw was beyond shocking.

"Hey there Ripper." Cutthroat spoke. "It's been a while hasn't it." He didn't want to believe it. There was no way it could be him. He looked around, seeing Dagur, and three other people along with him. Along with two dragons behind them, both trained on Bladewing. But his eyes quickly settled on his wife and baby. Heather was tied up, on her knees with Cutthroat holding a sword to her neck. Asger was held by the only other woman there. His tear stained eyes did little comfort for Ripper. To go through such a traumatic experience as an infant...

He was going to make them pay.

"Ripper Bonemould I presume." He watched the man with the goatee walk forward. "My name is Viggo Grimborn."

"I know who you are."

"Well then, that saves us some time doesn't it? Because that means you already know what I'm capable of." He smiled when he didn't get a response out of Ripper. "Shall we move onto business then?"

"Why do you have my wife and son, Viggo?" Ripper gritted through his teeth. If he wasn't badly outnumbered by enemies and dragons, he would have killed every single one of them where they stood. Starting with Cutthroat.

"Leverage you see. I knew you wouldn't work with me if I asked you directly, so I had to take a more, definitive approach. Work with me on what you may ask? Well that's simple. I want you to help me get rid of the dragon riders."

"Don't listen him to him Ripper-uh!" Heather's plea was cut short as Cutthroat brought the blade to her skin now, a move that had Ripper drawing his sword and Bladewing unsheathing his spikes.

"Don't you fucking touch her, prick!"

"Like you're in a position to be giving _me_ a command." Cutthroat smirked back at him. The anger in his father's voice and the intensity of the situation was too much for Asger who broke out into more wails.

"And we just got him to shut up!" Dagur whined.

"One more word about my son and I'll have Bladewing eat limb by limb!"

"Cutthroat, Dagur!" Viggo's tone and glare was enough to wipe the smirk off Cutthroat's face and make Dagur pout in annoyance. "Dabria, could you please calm the child?" Said woman rolled her eyes and walked closer to Heather.

"We don't have to keep her tied up you know." She said as she gave Cutthroat a look to back off, which he begrudgingly did. Once she deemed he was a safe distance away, she placed Asger on the ground next to Heather while undoing her binds, releasing her. "I'm certain he'll calm faster in his mother's arms." She said as Heather picked Asger up as soon as her hands were free, but still stayed where she was, quietly shushing Asger. With that settled, Viggo turned his attention back to Ripper.

"Anyway, as you can see, you are in no position to bargain with me. I am a business man and the only thing keeping your wife and son alive is your yet-to-be-made decision of helping me defeat the riders once and for all. And retrieve a family heirloom."

"I can't betray my friends just like that."

"And risk your family? What kind of father or husband would you be then?" Viggo walked closer to him. "From what I've heard you're a very protective man, Ripper. By Cutthroat's accounts you were quite close to killing him after he chopped off your best friend's leg. Are you willing for him to do worse to your own _family_?" Ripper looked at Heather, on her knees and holding Asger tightly to her chest, begging him not to accept the deal. But how could he not? He could not risk her or Asger's life. It was either betraying Hiccup and his friends, or losing his family.

The choice was obvious.

With a sad sigh he sheathed his sword and lowered his head. Bladewing, following his rider's lead, also calmed down. "Ripper no!" He could hear the tears in her voice. He raised his head up slowly, and saw her beautiful face stained with them. She was shaking her head, one last plea.

"I have to. I can't risk losing you or Asger." His own voice cracked. With a deep breath, he turned his gaze back to Viggo. The bastard was wearing his own triumphant grin. "Give me your word that no harm will come to them. I don't want any of your men near her! I don't want that sack of dragon shit near her either!" He pointed to Cutthroat.

"You have my word, Ripper. Dabria will keep eyes on your wife and son at all time. Trust me when I say your family couldn't be in better, or safer care. But now, onto more pressing matters..."


End file.
